Love the One You're With
by TheBlackDove4
Summary: Sequel to Beauty in the Making. Bella awoke from her dream to find herself back in the waiting room of the hospital after Collin was struck by lighning. Where will she go from here? BxE All-human DISCONTINUED..
1. Just a Dream

I awoke with a jolt. I could hear the beeping of machines and the ringing of phones as I peered up at the fluorescent lights. I sat up and yawned to find Alice sitting on the floor in front of me, a cup of coffee in each hand. She was watching me warily.

"When did you get here?" I asked her.

"Shortly after you did. I followed you and the others from the campgrounds."

"Where's Edward?"

"I released him from his duties when I got here. You were asleep and he was sitting across from you, so I told him he could leave and that I'd take over."

"Did he hesitate?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in concentration.

Alice shrugged. "Not really. Why? You look like _you_'ve been struck by lightning."

"I just had the weirdest dream…"

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Well, let's just say, by the time it was over, I wasn't a virgin anymore."

Alice cocked an eyebrow. "Jacob?"

"Yes. But the whole dream felt so real…"

"Well, you did cry a few times while you were sleeping. I just figured it was because of Collin."

"It was. I dreamt that he…" _No, this isn't the time to bring this up. _"Anyway, have you heard anything."

Alice smiled softly. "He's gonna be fine. They put him in a drug-induced coma to keep him from waking up before he heals."

"How long?"

"A few days or so. A week, tops."

I sighed in desperate relief, burying my head in my hands. I began to cry a little. Alice immediately sat down beside me and wrapped her arms around me. "Are you okay? I thought this would be _good_ news."

"Alice, it _is_. But you just wouldn't believe how it happened in my dream…"

"What _did_ happen in this dream of yours?"

"Well, for starters, you never came home early for camp, Edward and I got together, Collin died, I broke up with Edward, I did Jacob, I did Jacob again, and then I came home and Edward and I lived happily ever after. At least, I _think_ so."

Alice blinked. "And all of this happened in the four hours that you were asleep?"

I nodded.

"Well, Bella, I think you're allergic to tragedy. The first sign of one sends you into a deep sleep of an alternate universe. Girl, I don't know what pills you popped before you dropped, but you should totally hook me up… as long as it's not something Edward gave you. Then I'm not interested."

I shook my head. "No, Edward didn't give me anything. That only happens when we're sharing a disease."

"That'll teach you to drink after a player," Alice smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Do you know if we can go in there yet?"

Alice looked sad. "I already tried. Only family allowed until he wakes up."

I gaped. "That's ridiculous! What are we supposed to do until then, wait out here?"

"Bells, I think we're supposed to go home."

"I don't wanna go home," I snapped.

"Fine." Alice crossed her arms, mimicking me. "Then I'll just call Edward back here and make him drag you home."

I glared at her. "No, thank you."

"Alright, then," she said, standing up and taking my hands. "Let's walk out of here together and go back to my place."

So I followed her out.

After sneaking into her house and up to her room, we flopped down on her bed.

"So I need to ask you something," Alice said.

"Okay."

"What should I do about Emmett?"

I sighed. This had been going on since the musical. It was no mystery that Emmett was head-over-heels in love with her and she the same for him. But after what happened with both Quil and Jasper, I could understand why she would be hesitant. However, her cold feet were starting to get on my last nerve.

"Alice, seriously? You love him, he loves you, why don't you go for it?"

"Because having boyfriends always ends up in heartbreak for me."

"So?"

"Well, excuse me for not digging pain!"

I rolled my eyes. "It's part of the teenage dream. I've learned that if you want to be able to recognize happiness when it comes, you will have had to experience pain. That's why no one realizes what they've got 'til it's gone."

"I don't wanna call him my boyfriend, though. It's a bad omen for me," she complained.

"Alice, for the love of God! I'm ready to bitch slap you right now! There are other names for significant others than boyfriend/girlfriend. If you don't wanna call him that, then call him your lover or something. Why do you women insist on complicating every aspect of your lives?"

"It makes life more interesting. But I don't wanna break his heart."

"Then don't. Go out with him. Be with him. Do what you wanna do."

"Why do you sound so blasé about this? And since when are you so casual about love lives?" Alice inquired.

"Since mine doesn't exist anymore," I told her. "I don't know why this is such a riddle for you. I mean, it's pretty obvious what's supposed to happen. It's been half a summer already. If you weren't supposed to take the chance, it would've left already. Duh."

Alice crossed her arms. "Why do you have to be reasonable about this?"

"Because it's not about me. When what's going on doesn't affect yourself, you tend to gain a lot more perspective about what's going on. And that's why it's so clear to me. I think you may have found your first _real_ love."

She sighed. "I think Jasper was pretty real."

I rolled my eyes. "He was a psycho. He had absolutely no brains and I hate him. You were right to end it."

"Bella, I wasn't the one who-"

"Shh!" I hissed. Then I pulled her into a hug. "Hush, small child. Don't ruin my beautiful image of your ex-asshat."

Alice giggled.

Then I pulled away. "So how long do you think it'll be before Collin gets out?"

"A month at least. He's got some real healing to do."

I sighed. "I'm just glad he's gonna be okay. I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Probably do something reckless and stupid like pick up a nasty habit like sleeping over at Edward's house," she smirked.

I whipped my head in her direction.

She shrugged. "You've really gotta stop talking in your sleep, babe. I'd hate to be around after you get your wisdom teeth taken out. High on all those pain killers… there's no telling what will spill out of your mouth."

"Then I'd need you there to cover for me," I grinned.

_**AN: Hey guys, new story. It's basically just a continuance of Play Me, Beauty in the Making. So basically Beauty in the Making was just a dream she had starting after she met up with Edward in the ER and fell asleep in the waiting room after Collin's accident. Now I'm just gonna skip over the rest of the summer and dive straight into Bella's junior year! Hope everyone enjoys! Read and review!**_


	2. The Worst Thing

_I felt Jacob's fingertips grazing my legs as I wrapped them around his torso. He deepened the kiss as we floated in the water of the pool. No one around, no parents to stop us. We were weightless. And I smiled._

_But there was something different._

_My eyes were closed, but behind my eyelids, I could see the red glare, which told me that the sun was sun was shining above us. It wasn't night anymore. When I realized this, I pulled away and opened my eyes._

_And when I did, it wasn't Jacob looking back at me._

_It was Edward._

I shot straight up in Alice's bed with a sharp scream, sweating, panting, and crying. I couldn't see much; my vision was blurry through my tears. I felt sick and very hot. Within seconds, Alice's arms were around me. I could hear her saying my name over and over as she pulled me into her sweet embrace. So I just lay in her arms and cried.

After a few minutes, I was silent. But I still laid there. And I didn't move much. Alice just continued to stroke my hair gently. My face was tear-stained, I was sure of it. So slowly, I sat up and faced her. She looked at me sympathetically.

"How bad was it?" she asked softly.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Bad."

"What happened?"

I let out a breath. "It was me and Jacob in the pool the night before he left. We were kissing." I stopped to sniffle. "Then I noticed that it wasn't night anymore and so I opened my eyes…"

Alice waited.

"…so then I opened my eyes and it wasn't him anymore." Alice looked like one of the people from Titanic, listening to the end of Rose's story. "It was Edward." Then I broke down again. "Why is this happening to me? Why can't he leave me alone?" I cried. "Why is he still haunting me? I mean, I've been with Jake. Wasn't that enough to detoxicate me?"

Alice gave me a sad smile. "I know what you mean. And I think I have an answer for you. But I don't think you'll like it."

"Give it to me anyway."

"Well, whether you like it or not," she said gently, "Edward made a mark on you that won't go away just because you got involved with someone you like better or who treated you better. It made it fade away temporarily and it may have dulled the pain to almost nothing, but you'll never forget him. He'll be a part of your life until it ends."

I just stared at her. She was right. I didn't like it. I just wanted this whole thing with Edward to be over. Hell, hadn't it lasted long enough? I think nine months of mooning over a guy who only wants to use you as a doormat in his macho ego trip is more than enough for a hundred girls' lifetime guy-pain put together.

I glowered. "You're right. I don't like it."

"I didn't think you would." Then she decided to change lanes. "Okay, so I didn't think our day plans would be decided so early, but you have inspired me. We're gonna go to the mall and get some gelato."

I blinked. "We're going to the mall just for _gelato_?"

"I'm sure your broken heart's desires will take it from there."

We pulled up an hour later at the Piazza. I ordered my dark chocolate gelato and Alice got her mocha gelato and we sat outside on one of the benches.

"So," Alice said, "I'm gonna do what you said and talk to Emmett about… being together."

"Good for you, Al. You should make your life simpler more often. If you want something, you should go after it."

"Then why aren't you in California, Bella? Why aren't you chasing down Jacob like it's everything you want, because it is."

"Because, Alice! That is not an option for me! I am sixteen, unemployed, a minor, licenseless, and without insurance on the car I _do_ have. Not to mention that I would have no idea how to get to him. And need I remind you that he's in a relationship? With that Irina chick? I'm over the whole home-wrecking thing."

"I never knew you were under it."

"Well, I wasn't, but surely you remember that I'd been chasing after Edward even _after_ I knew about Tanya and their developing relationship. Not to mention how many times I tried while he was with Jane. Hell, I went to the movies with him, knowing that he was with another girl."

"Yeah, but he invited you with them."

"True, but at first, he gave off the impression that we'd be alone."

"Hey, you never threw yourself at him or tried to seduce him, so in my book, you're not a home-wrecker. I mean, you even tried to keep your crush on him a secret. That says that you didn't want him to know. You didn't want him notice."

"More like I didn't wanna be humiliated, which I was when it was all said and done. I still remember crying until ungodly hours of the night. It really screwed me up."

She took my hands. "But you got through it. I remember you telling me multiple times that the worst thing that could ever happen would be if Edward found out. But I think you knew all along that it would. And it did. Yes, it was horrible. And yes, it was the worst thing. But you still made it. You survived. You will _always_ survive, Bella Swan. Always."

Tears welled up. "Alice, if you were a man, I would totally kiss you right now."

"Yes… but then you'd start dreaming of me." She stood up quickly. "Okay, c'mon, let's go. The last thing we need is for you to keep sitting down and letting all that gelato add on you. Let's try to maintain your girlish figure, shall we?"

I groaned. "Whatever. Just make me feel better."

Alice smirked. "Oh, Bella. You're gonna have a great summer. Trust me. We're gonna avoid Edward, stick with your memories of Jacob, and have some fun."


	3. Forget Him

And one hell of a summer it was. We had sleepovers and pillow fights, scary movie nights, more night swimming, all-nighters, Harry Potter marathons, midnight movie premieres at the theatre, babysitting, kickball with the Webers, a week-long trip to Florida, walking miles down the beach without sunscreen, trespassing on other beach properties for water, looking like lobsters when we got back, and reading amazing books.

And now we were sitting in front of the school. It was a week before school would start and we were there to pick up our schedules and parking passes. We had our sunglasses on and our black leather jackets. It was ten in the morning and rainy, so the heat wasn't a concern. But the people were. We were constantly looking back and to the side for any sign of people we didn't want to… encounter. Namely, Tanya, Eric, or Edward.

"Any sign of them?" Alice asked.

"No," I said peering out from behind my sunglasses. "I think it's safe. Let's just get this over with."

So on the count of three, we rushed into the school, grabbed our schedules and Alice's parking pass, and rushed out.

"Okay," I said, panting as we jumped back into Alice's Porsche with our stuff in hand. "Let's see what we've got here… well, it looks like we have Drama together. Big surprise."

"Hey, where's your parking permit?"

"You only got yours 'cause you applied back in May. I'm gonna have to turn my application in next Monday."

"Without a license?"

"I'll just copy the number from my learner's," I shrugged. "Cake."

"You think it'll work?"

"What are they gonna do if I get caught?"

"Oh, I don't know, suspend you, maybe ban you from a permit all together?"

I shrugged again. "Small price to pay. But really. What's the worst that could happen?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you say so…"


	4. Starting Over

It was the third day of school. And so far, I had coasted through my year without… incident. I had turned in my parking permit application without a license two days before. Ms. Cope, at the front desk, told me that I needed to present my license. I had sweetly told her that I didn't have it on me right that day. She told me that I would need to bring it in later. Like hell.

So I made my way from homeroom to Drama when the intercom sounded.

"_Could the following students come to the front office, please,"_ rang out the loud, booming voice of the football coach, who was also the head of the parking lot patrol. "_Anna Hill, Brady Simmons, Cory Milgrow, Edward Cullen, Bella Swan, Morgan Filk…"_

And I spoke to damn soon. This _would_ happen to me.

So I grudgingly made my way to the front office. If it wasn't for the fact that my parking permit was waiting for me in the front office, I would have kept on moving. I would just go straight to class and ignore the call. But I needed this. I didn't want to lose my spot. As I looked ahead, I noticed the bronze-headed boy walking ahead of me.

Shit. I slowed down until he left my sight. Then I took my time going to the main office. And when I got there, there he was. Edward looked up at me as I entered, but I quickly looked away, focusing on the bulletin board and all the fliers on it. After what felt like hours, he spoke to me. I didn't catch what it was, but I turned and smiled like I heard him.

He paused to look me over. "Are you nervous?"

Shit, could he hear my heart ready to beat right out of my freakin' chest? But this time, it wasn't the good kind. It was a split between the adrenaline of trying to con the department into giving me a parking permit without the help of a license and the irritating upset I was feeling over Edward standing in front of me. Being in the same room with him upset my nervous system the same way mixing orange juice and milk upsets the stomach. It didn't agree with me.

I was supposed to not have to see him. I mean, I knew I would eventually, but the third day of school? _Seriously_? Seeing him upset me and I didn't wanna have to put up with it. I could feel my ears getting pink and I could bet my life savings that my chest was red and splotchy, a sure-ass sign that I was holding back from expressing major irritation or anger.

"No."

"You sure look like it." He stepped forward. "You know, you're not in trouble. This is where you pick up your parking pass."

"I know that."

After my last reply, he retreated. I guess he thought the splotches were due to me thinking I was in trouble. But since I shot that down, I guess he realized that it was him that was making me edgy.

Then finally, he went into the office and retrieved his parking permit. Then I was called in after him.

"Last name?" Coach Clapp boomed.

"Swan," I said naturally, as if there was nothing wrong.

He pulled out my application. "Okay, it looks like I've got you right here. Did you show Ms. Cope your license?"

I could've easily said yes, knowing that he probably wouldn't interrogate her about it. But I decided that lying right away would be more dangerous that conning.

"No, I haven't."

"Do you have it with you?"

I laughed dryly. "Well, I didn't drive here, so I didn't think to bring it."

"Okay, well, you'll need to bring it to me tomorrow."

"Okay, Coach Clapp," I said, walking toward the door.

"Wait!" he said.

_Score_. So predictable. "Yes?"

"Don't you want your permit? You can have it as long as you promise to bring your license in tomorrow."

I smiled sweetly. "I promise." Yeah. Like he'd remember.

He smiled back and handed it to me. Then I left.

144. Good number. And an _awesome_ parking lot. I got into the only one that doesn't require you to literally hike up to the school every morning. See? Maybe that _was_ worth it.

As I made my way toward the theatre in the rain, my heart pounded in my chest and I prayed that the splotches were fading. I entered and thankfully went unnoticed as I took a seat by Alice, who was eyeballing me worriedly.

"Hey," I whispered.

"I heard the announcement," she said mournfully. "You survive?"

"Managed to."

She looked at my chest. "I can already tell what kind of reunion it was."

I laughed shortly. "Oh, I would hardly call that a reunion. I didn't even feel comfortable in my own skin."

She giggled. "How long did it feel?"

"About ten years. Why is it that time moves slowly when we need it to speed up?"

"Because life isn't fair."

"Touché."

"So was he nice?"

"Yeah, he was… but that doesn't mean he isn't still a douche. And I still don't like him."

"Wow, Jacob must have really pleased you to make you drop Edward like a beanbag."

I nodded. "He is yet to be beat."

"So anyway, Emmett wanted me to tell you that he loves you," she grinned.

"Well, he should. If it wasn't for me, you guys would still be twisting in the wind. You, with your indecision and fickleness and him, with his anxiety. You're more trouble than you're worth."

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't think you have yet figured out that you are the most wanted girl at this school. Most of the time, when a guy talks to me, it's because they're just a friend, retarded, or they want a date with you. I have limited guy friends and there are limited retards at this school. But the number of guys that approach me are endless. What does that tell you?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "So how come you don't tell me about them?"

"Well, because you were on the fence with Emmett. And now you're actually dating him. Besides, that creepy guy who follows you everywhere and stares at you with half of his face hidden behind the wall should give you some insight into what they're like."

Then we turned around to see the creepy guy staring at us with half of his face hidden behind the wall. I looked back at Alice.

"Regardless, maybe you should look into them yourself. You might find someone you really like."

"Any guy that's into you is not for me. I spend too much time with you to make that relationship work."

"Do you even want a relationship, Bella?"

I shrugged. "I thought I did with Edward. But I guess that's because I knew he was unattainable, so I was open to anything. But then Jacob came out of nowhere and I thought that he would be great, but in reality, I didn't want a relationship with him. That's why I was okay when he left."

"But then you spent the whole next day mourning for him."

"Yeah, because I missed him. But then I got over it. See? I'm fine now."

"Yes, I do see that. Now, my job is to find someone just like him, which could be easy since you told me pretty much everything."

I nodded, then shook my head. "Sorry, Alice, but I really don't feel like being hooked up. That always works out badly for me."

"Who have you been hooked up with?"

"Jack. That was Jessie and Sarah's doing. Then James… well, that was my dad."

"How the hell did your dad make that catastrophe happen?"

"Well, I knew him before last year. I had known him for ten years. How did that happen? My dad, Alice."

"Okay… then I suggest you get a move on. Good guys do exist in this place, Bella. You just have to look hard enough."

"I just told you. I'm not sure I want a relationship."

"Then be like Edward," she smirked.

I scowled. "I'm not gonna mess around with a lot of different guys, Alice. That's slutty."

"Then why do you keep complaining about your love life? Or should I say lack thereof?"

I didn't answer.

"That's what I thought. Now start looking."

**A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry it took me so long! And I know a lot of people are upset because I'm making Jasper the bad guy and pair Emmett and Alice together, but I honestly had no idea that Jasper would turn out the way he did, I SWUR! But this is a BxE fanfic, so Edward and Bella are the only ones I'm gonna try to bring together. But hang on tight, people…. It could take awhile….**


	5. The Most Obnoxious Person

I walked into Trig class for first period on Monday. I yawned as I removed my backpack and set it down in the floor before plopping down in my seat. I waited for Miss Turner to start class, something she almost never did on time.

"Bella?"

I turned to my left to see Liam, the laziest kid in class.

"Hmm?"

"You got a pen I can borrow?"

I hesitated. "Yeah…"

I dug around in my purse for the extra pen I always carry. I handed it to him, secretly knowing I'd never see it again. Damn it.

"Here."

"Thanks."

As he took the pen, Miss Turner came around to check our homework. As always, mine was completed and accurate. Then she looked at Liam's. After some tsking and a frowny face on his homework sheet, he turned back to me, the next classwork assignment in hand.

"Can you help me?"

I sighed. He had been like this since I met him in second grade. He was my boyfriend back then. I'm not sure where the attraction had ever come from. You could easily win a girl's heart when you save her from falling off the slide because she's too clumsy to keep her balance. But Liam was a troublemaker. He always had been. He once got suspended for having a knife at school. A second grader.

"What don't you understand?"

"The whole trig thing."

I nodded slowly. "I see… and you waited until October to ask for help?"

"Well, I asked other people, but their just as dumb as I am. And you've always been smart."

That was almost flattering.

So I proceeded to explain trigonometry to him. By the time I finally got him to understand, it was five minutes until the bell. Suddenly, he snatched my pen out of my hand and grabbed my arm.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Drawing on your arm."

"I can see that, but why? And what?"

He didn't answer.

"I swear, Liam, if you draw a dick on my arm, I will remove yours and shove it so far up your ass that no proctologist will ever find it. And that's a promise."

"Geez… your just as abrasive as you were nine years ago. And FYI, I'm just drawing a shitload of smiley faces on your arm. No worries." I rolled my eyes. "You know, I still have that Junie B. Jones valentine you gave me in the second grade."

I looked appalled. "Why the hell haven't you burned that thing?"

"Believe me, I've tried! But every time I do, Mom snatches it away from me and hides it. The last place she put it was in the safe, but I've gotten close to cracking the code."

"She locked it in a _safe_?"

"Yeah."

"What a psychopath…"

"Oh, no, Bella. _I'm_ a psychopath. My mom's just crazy."

"Is there much of a difference?"

"Yeah-" He was going to tell me more, but the bell rang and he ran out the door. I shook my head. That boy had the attention span of that dog from Up. _Bell_! He was OCD, ADD, ADHD, and all those other things with a nice big glob of laziness on top. He was also in ROTC. On my way down the hall towards the stairs, I ran into Jessica, who was also in ROTC.

"Jess, our pal Liam is getting on my very last nerve."

"Yeah, he told me about the smiley faces on his way down the stairs. But you're lucky." She then rolled up her sleeve to reveal several small, marble-sized bruises all over her arm in the same areas as my smiley faces.

"Dude, what the hell?"

"He'll sit there in ROTC and poke the shit out of me. It's annoying as hell."

"Kill him!"

"I'm not allowed to handle the guns. But Liam can. He's an officer, for some odd reason."

"Then tell Major!"

"C'mon, Bella. I'm not a wimp."

I rolled my eyes. "Then deck him."

"I do."

Then the warning bell rang. I rushed to second period. By the time I got to fourth period, I was in one of my moods. I dropped my stuff down on the floor of the theatre and sat down next to Alice on the couch.

"Who pissed in your Froot Loops? You look livid."

"I hate mid-semester. And it only goes downhill from here."

"Well, I'm having a bit of a problem with Emmett."

"What's going on?"

"Did you notice when we were all at the fair a few weeks ago, Emmett would completely ignore me when he started talking to Alec or any of his other friends."

I immediately rolled my eyes. I remembered that night. Alec was our student body president and a total ladies' man. He and his friend came up to Emmett while Alice and I were right there. Emmett asked them what they were up to and Alec automatically said that they were "lookin' for ladies." They both came right at me and Alice and I almost had to run away.

I leaned in toward her. "Alice, you have to understand something because I put in way too much effort to get you two together for you to be dumb. He's a stupid seventeen-year-old boy." At that moment, I noticed Edward Cullen walk right past me as I said this. _Brilliant. He'll probably take that as a cue_. "Guys do that all the time. It's because they have short attention spans and they're not mature. In fact, there are lots of reasons why guys are-"

But I was suddenly cut off by the screeching of a chair that suddenly appeared right in between me and Alice and became instantly occupied by the ass of Edward Cullen.

"Look who's back!" he announced obnoxiously as he slapped our legs.

I glanced at him barely as I continued to talk to Alice. "So just keep that in mind, okay? I really think it's gonna be fine. Don't let that screw things up for you guys."

Alice nodded. And then she decided to be the Good Samaritan. "Hi, Edward."

"Sup. Long time, no see."

_And it was nice while it lasted_, I thought.

Then Alice turned to me. "So what are we gonna do for your birthday?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "You do know that my birthday was in September, right?"

"Yes, but you didn't throw a party or anything."

"I know. 'Cause I played hookie and went to the mall instead, like I do every year. How about this? I'll actually come to Homecoming this year. And I'll try to have fun."

Alice clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay!"

"When's your birthday?" Edward asked me.

_Why do you care?_ "September 13th."

"Damn, I'm a year and three months older than you!"

I nodded once and turned back to Alice. "So-"

"Do you still hate me?" Edward asked. I looked up at him and realized he was talking to me.

I didn't really know what to say. "Why would I hate you?"

"Well-"

"That was rhetorical."

"I thought you did."

I rolled my eyes. I know. I do that a lot. "Okay, whatever you say, drama queen."

Then Edward continued to try to insert himself into the conversation. I didn't condemn him or anything, but I didn't give him a single lick of attention. Alice took on most of the good-heartedness and talked to him.

After thirty minutes of agonizing, forced conversation with Edward, the bell finally rang. I didn't worry about going to Homecoming where Edward was concerned. He was currently without a girlfriend, which didn't surprise me. I didn't expect Jane to put up with him for much longer. So when I entered history class, I was a bit more tense than I had been before. I secretly wished Edward hadn't shown up in my drama class earlier. He had no reason for being there anyway. The tech class was second period.

I sat down in my seat next to Collin. I shared a table with Collin and two other guys, one of them being Eric Yorkie. Our class immediately plunged into notes for the next test. History was kicking my ass. I had a low B in there, whereas I had an A in everything else. This _would_ happen to me.

About ten minutes in, one of the many boys from the table next to us started whispering to another.

"Shh!" I hissed.

Then I crossed my arms and turned back to the whiteboard. After a little while longer, one of them made a very fake fart noise. I shot my head back.

"Can you guys just shut the fuck up?"

"Why don't you!" Levi Williams shot back evilly.

I glared at him murderously. Levi had been my kindergarten boyfriend. He was one of the most obnoxious people I knew. Next to Liam and Edward Cullen. "Why don't you make me?"

"I don't make trash, I burn it."

I cocked an eyebrow. "That's all you got? You are such an idiot…"

Then the bell rang. We both stood up. "And you're just a girl who can't get a boyfriend!"

I wanted to gape at him, but decided not to give him the satisfaction. I just ignored him. Then I let out a deep breath as Collin and I walked to the parking lot together.

"Why do you guys fight like that?" he asked me.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know, maybe because he's the most obnoxious person on the planet?"

"I thought Edward Cullen was."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, he is… but right at this very moment, it's Levi Williams." I paused. "And Liam Scotts."


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, everyone, it's time to fast-forward. To make these next chapters NON-FLUFFY, I'm gonna skip all that long, drawn-out transition crap. To start out, Liam continues to terrorize Bella for weeks by drawing those damn smiley-faces on her arms, teasing her, poking her, and acting like a typical boy with no sense. And Levi and Bella continue to butt heads like two bulls throughout the same timeline. And all the while, Edward never makes a significant appearance. So, now that it's finally late November, let's go from there **

"So what did your parents say about Homecoming?" I asked as I sat down in front of Bronwyn in the cafeteria.

She sighed. "Mom said it was okay, then Dad flipped out and went on and on about how I'm only fourteen, and then Mom agreed with him and now I can't go."

"Are you shitting me? I freakin bought you a dress from Macy's to go to that dance!"

"You think I didn't tell them that?"

"You didn't tell them that everyone grinds at these things, did you?"

Bronwyn gave me a look. "Bella, my older sister is a bastard child who was the product of my mother's one-night stand with her ex-boyfriend before any of the rest of us was even a twinkle in her eye. I'm pretty sure she knows what goes on at Homecoming dances."

"But I'd be there with you. I thought they trusted me."

"They do. It's me they don't trust. They think I'd grind with any guy I bumped into."

"But you would," I nodded. "And I would let you."

Bronwyn laughed. "You'd cheer me on."

"Yes, I would. But there's one thing I'm not gonna do. I won't find a way to sneak you out to go to the dance. Even I have my limits."

She sighed. "That's not even a chance _I_ want to take."

Then the bell rang to let us go to first period. "Good," I said, standing up. "You shouldn't. I'm the risk-taker between the two of us. And as easy as it'd be to get you to this dance, I cannot risk my point card with your parents. I'd like to keep my babysitting job, thank you very much."

"I understand. I guess we'll just have to make up for it. What are you doing tonight?"

"Well, it's Friday, so I'm gonna be getting ready for the dance tomorrow night. Duh."

"But Bella, Thanksgiving Break starts at approximately three o'clock this afternoon. And I'm leaving for Florida first thing Sunday morning. Surely can find some time for me," she whined.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, home girl. What are your parents doing tonight?"

Bronwyn paused. "I could persuade them to go out on a date."

"Good. Do that. Then I'll come over and spend some time with you, Angela, and the others."

She nodded in approval as we reached her classroom. I walked on to Trig.

Once I got upstairs and into Miss Turner's classroom, I was suddenly ambushed and nearly tackled to the ground.

"Liam, what the hell?" I shrieked.

"I need your help," he said desperately, clinging to the sleeve of my leather jacket for dear life.

"What?"

"I have a paper due for Ms. Shiles next period."

"So? What paper is it?"

"The essay test for The Scarlet Letter."

My eyes widened. "You mean the essay test we turned in two months ago?"

"Yes. And she told me that if I didn't turn it in today, I wouldn't get full credit."

"Well, I can't imagine why! You've had that long to do it and you still haven't. I think you _want _to fail."

"Actually, I truly don't. And it doesn't matter why I haven't; the problem is _I haven't_. So I need your help."

"With what? Writing it?"

"Yes! I want you to help me write it! Please help me get a C."

"So in translation: 'Bella, write my paper for me so that Ms. Shiles won't eat me and I won't have to put in an effort'?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

I threw my bag down and Liam followed, planting himself next to me at the computer next to Miss Turner's desk. I spent the entire hour typing Liam's paper, making sure to include the occasional grammatical error so that Ms. Shiles didn't catch on. I even threw bits and pieces of stupidity for good measure. Liam drew on my arm the whole time.

When I finally finished and printed it out, Liam pulled me into a giant hug, immediately cutting off my air supply. Then when he let me go, he dropped to his knees and literally bowed down at my feet. I cocked an eyebrow and glanced around, making sure no one was watching. Then he stood back up and hugged me again.

"Thank you, Bella. I love you."

"You should. I just saved your ass, I'm sure."

"Yes, you did. If I didn't turn the paper in, Shiles would have called Major, and I would have been demoted."

"Good. Maybe that should motivate you next time," I told him, punching him in the arm.

He grinned slyly. "Not likely."

Then the bell rang, and he left me.

When I walked into the theatre at fourth period, Alice was nowhere to be found. That wasn't good. And it just deepened my bad mood. I wanted desperately to tell her about Liam and the constant flirting. If anyone could snap me out of it, Alice could.

But she never showed up. It was about five minutes after the bell had rung when I heard the giant metal door open. With a stupid grin of relief on my face, I turned to look at Alice. Except it wasn't Alice who walked in. It was Edward.

My stupid grin immediately fell as Edward and his dumb cologne blew right past me to Miss Kay's desk. I stomped angrily to my purse and retrieved my phone. I texted Alice, asking her where the hell she was. When I turned around, Edward was in my face.

"Hey, girl. Smile."

I rolled my eyes in the midst of my frustration, ducked out of his way, and carried on with my urgent text message. He instantly became slightly defensive.

"Or don't. Whatever."

Then he continued on his merry way.

_Damn_, I thought, _If that was all it took, I woulda done that a long time ago_.

During the last class of the day, I reached under the table and clamped a hold of Collin's hand as we all waited for our scores on our history test.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?" I asked, not even looking up.

"Ow."

I looked down at Collin's red- quickly turning purple- hand. I let go right away.

"Sorry," I whispered.

He rubbed his hand, cradling it against his chest. "Man, these test scores really have you worked up, don't they?"

"Well, I've told you once before that history is kicking my ass. I meant it."

Then my test was handed to me. Shit. I failed by four points. I huffed and turned it over on the table.

"Hey, Bella, what did you get?" Levi asked me from a table over. "You probably got a hundred."

That was actually quite flattering and I was a little taken aback by his sudden change in attitude towards me. "Sixty-six," I growled.

His eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. "Are you serious? You took all class period to take that test!"

"I know!" I agreed. Then I huffed again and looked over at Collin, who looked as if he had just witnessed two people having hot, crazy monkey sex or something.

"What?" I asked him.

"Weird…" he said as he looked back down at his test.

I just shrugged it off.


	7. Stalkers

EPOV

I spent seventh period every day in the theatre. Showtime for the musical would start right after break ended and I had a shitload of work to do. Not to mention the drama club meeting that was starting in twenty minutes. These were the parts during the semester that I hated. I put another nail into the big piece of plywood that served as the base of one of the sets. Maybe the damn thing would actually stay this time.

Beads of perspiration began to trickle down my temple as I put the last two nails in. I jumped down from the ladder to find a guy standing there.

"Whassup?" I greeted with a single nod.

He nodded back once. "Miss Kay said that you were the one to talk to about the set-building."

"What about the set-building?"

He smiled slightly. "Uh, I'm in college for welding and I was told by a friend that this drama department would be a good source of reference… and that you guys need some help."

"Who told you that?"

"The father of a girl who used to go here."

"Who's the girl? Maybe I know her."

"Rachel Clearwater."

That rang a bell. Rachel Clearwater. She was close to Bella's family. Bella was probably the one who told her dad.

"Really? You know Rachel?" I didn't even bother with bringing up Bella.

"Yeah," he nodded.

I crossed my arms. "What's your name?"

"Jacob. Jacob Black."

I smiled and held out my hand. "Well, then welcome to the crew, Jacob."

APOV

The reason I wasn't at school was because I took the day off to spend it at work. Eddie Bauer needed as many available employees as they could get for today in preparation for Black Friday a week from today. Damn. That would mean missing the drama club meeting. Oh well. I just hope Bella doesn't wanna rip my throat out after this.

I put on my name tag and began to redress the manikins. I looked around to make sure no one was watching. I'm not sure why, but it makes me uncomfortable to undress the manikins with people around. But as soon as I got it done, I got back to real work.

BPOV

Collin and I walked into the theatre for the drama club meeting right as our names were called on the roll.

"Here!" we yelled.

We immediately sat down and listened to business, which was pretty boring. Bree Tanner was frantically trying to hand out all of the information flyers for our next fundraiser. Poor thing. She had probably been busy all day with the musical coming up right after break.

In the background, I could hear hammering from the auditorium. Loud hammering. Who would be doing that during a meeting? Three guesses who. Bree immediately stopped what she was doing to go out to the auditorium. She came back in less than a minute with Edward and Emmett in tow. I turned back around as she continued to pass out the flyers. I took mine and handed one to Collin.

Then the door opened.

I looked up and Ben was standing there with Bronwyn by his side. I sighed and walked over to him.

"What are you guys doing?" I whispered.

"The car's locked and Mrs. Weber hasn't shown up yet," Ben whispered back.

"You were supposed to ride the bus. I told you that this morning. Or were you not listening?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I don't know how long this is gonna take, so why don't you guys just stand in a corner or something; play Patty-Cake, I don't care. Just don't cause trouble." I turned to Bronwyn. "And if your mom doesn't show, I'll drive you home."

"Illegally?" Her face lit up.

I rolled my eyes again. "Yes, illegally. Now you can say you've committed a misdemeanor. Congratulations."

She clapped her hands. "Yay."

On that note, I went back to my seat next to Collin. I waited patiently for the meeting to end when that damn hammering started up again. I shot a look back toward Bree, trying to give her a signal that Edward was being noisy, but I realized she was standing _next to_ Edward.

Then the meeting was suddenly adjourned. I got up with everyone else as the hammering in the background went on and on. I immediately headed over to the work area, which would lead me straight into the auditorium. The hammering grew louder as I turned the corner. I went to pull back the corner, when someone appeared in the doorway.

"Bella." I whipped around. It was Bronwyn and Ben. And at that moment, the hammering stopped instantly. "We need to go."

I walked toward them. "Did your mom ever show?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Okay, we'll go to the car, wait a couple more minutes, and then we'll leave if she never shows up." Then I pulled out my phone. Two missed calls. I checked my voicemail. Afterwards, I turned back to the other two. "No wonder. The Mystery Machine broke down on the highway. She's not coming."

So I led them to the car. The black Focus that was usually parked next to my truck was still there. We all put our schoolbags into the back of the truck.

"So did Bronwyn tell you that she's apparently a lesbian?" Ben asked amusedly.

"Dude!" Bronwyn shrieked. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Ben, do I _have_ to kill you?"

"Yeah," came a voice from behind him. "Do I need to knock you out?"

Then Edward emerged. My eyes narrowed and I saw red. "No. You don't," I growled.

He smirked as he opened the trunk of the Focus. My eyes widened. This could _not_ be happening. "I wondered when we'd run into each other out here. It's either I leave before you get out here or you leave before I even get a chance to leave the auditorium."

"You've been the one parking next to me all along?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"You suck at backing in!"

He laughed. "Why so angry with me? It's been awhile since we've talked."

I smiled mockingly. "I know. It's been nice, hasn't it?"

"And I wouldn't worry about your brother. He could probably take me."

I shook my head. "He's never been in a fight."

"Oh. Then never mind."

"But then again, neither have you."

He raised an eyebrow. "You weren't there this weekend."

I laughed out loud. "You're right. I wasn't. Isn't it funny how I'm_ never_ there?"

"Well, I don't hang out with you!"

"Yeah, and thank God for that!"

Then I climbed into the truck and sped off with Bronwyn and Ben.

"Well, he was obnoxious…"

I looked over at Bronwyn. "Really? You think so?"

She searched my face. "Was that Edward, by any chance?"

"How could you tell?" I asked sarcastically.

"Your chest is all splotchy."

I smirked. "Yeah, he's a real trip. So what's this whole lesbian deal? What's that about?"

"Well, I stole this notebook from this kid in my art class. I hate him. So I stole the book and looked in it."

"And?"

"The whole thing is full of comics. Comics of me. Where I'm the size of a house and each one ends with me getting eaten by alligators. Then there's this entire paragraph about how I'm a lesbian and I'm his slave and he eventually feeds me to his gators. It's retarded."

I stifled a laugh. "He sounds like a freshman to me. Just ignore him."

Bronwyn looked apprehensive before finally nodding. She was so vengeful…

When Ben and I finally pulled up our driveway, I immediately went up to my room and started on the last of my homework so that my break could start as soon as possible.

APOV

Ugh, why is it that when people look through clothes that are laid out, they have to unfold every single shirt and cami on the damn display table? Gah!

I began folding the clothes when two guys came in. They were both pretty tall, one was blonde, the other dark-headed like me.

"Hi," I said pleasantly. "Welcome to Eddie Bauer. All jeans buy-one-get-one-free with the exception of-"

They approached me, closer this time and smiled slyly.

"Hey baby," the dark-haired one said with a single nod of the head as he looked me up and down.

I tried to smile and ignore the last comment. "So we have guys' polos-"

"So what time do you get off?"

I forced a laugh. "I'm not gonna tell you that."

The blonde one smirked, which scared me a little, even though he couldn't be more than seventeen. It was the dark-headed one that concerned me.

"Hm, that's too bad. 'Cause I'd love to have you come home with me."

I turned to walk away and I heard them following me.

"So how old are you?" the blonde one asked.

"Twelve," I answered.

The dark one laughed. "No, really. How old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

They both laughed again, obviously not believing me.

"Well, I'm thirty-two," said the dark-haired one.

"Hmm," I said apprehensively. "Thirty-two and twelve. Not a good age difference, huh?" I didn't wait for an answer. I quickly walked away. I worked hard to busy myself and keep those two creeps from following me.

EMPOV

"So where are you from?"

"California."

I nodded. "That's cool. I bet you hate the weather here. You know, rain all the time."

Jacob shrugged. "Not really. I knew what I was in for when I came up here."

"You've been in Forks before?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Had a great time too."

I nodded, checked my watch, and sighed. "Well, it's almost five. I guess you could say we're almost off duty. Where are you staying?"

"Oh, I'm just staying at the Clearwaters' until after the set-building for the musical and the comedy in February are all built. I guess I'll be around until y'alls Christmas Break."

"Well, that's cool 'cause we like having you around, Jake." I slapped him on the back.

APOV

Six o'clock. Two freakin' hours and those guys still weren't gone. In fact, they were now coming towards me, a jacket in the dark one's hand.

"Hey, can I try this on?" he asked me sensually.

I nodded. "Yes." I then led them both to the dressing rooms. I opened one of the doors and let him in. Instead of closing the door, he began to unbutton his shirt right in front of me with one of those_ looks_ on his face. I immediately closed the door from him and walked away. The blonde one followed me.

"So what's your name?"

"Alice." It's called a name tag. Duh.

"Hmm, _Alice_…"

"Yeah. You pronounce well."

"Feisty one, aren't you?" I didn't answer. "Well, it's your lucky day. 'Cause that's how I like them."

I scoffed. "You're way out of your league, kid."

The look he gave me next was indescribable. It was cold and evil and dangerous, while at the same time it was sexual, sensual, and…

Then the dark-haired one came out and joined his teenaged side-kick. But neither of them got a chance before my boss, Kim, approached.

"Alice, you're off now. You can go."

Then she walked away. _Thanks, Kim. You're the best_. FML.

I tightened my lips in a thin line and walked back to my locker. I grabbed my purse, my keys, and my jacket and hesitated before walking back out. Then Alec walked by. I pulled him aside.

"Hey, Alice. What's up?"

"I need you to walk me to my car."

"Okay… but why?"

"'Cause there's these two guys that have been here for the past two hours, harassing me. And you know I can't take anyone."

He nodded in agreement. "Okay, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

So he walked me back through the store. Those guys were nowhere in sight. But I wasn't _that_ naïve. As we walked outside, I noticed a Suburban about a hundred feet away. As soon as we were in full view, its headlights went out, but the car kept running and I knew it was them. Alec pulled me close under his umbrella as we walked all the way to the back of the lot to my car. He stuck around until I got my Porsche started and pulled out, then he went back to work.

Then the Suburban started to follow me. Actually, I wasn't sure, but I wanted to make sure. So I weaved all around the parking lot of the entire mall. They stayed behind me the entire time. Great.

So I left the mall and started out. And so did they.

I scrambled in my purse for my phone and dialed my mom. As usual, the negligent bitch didn't answer. Tears sprang to my eyes as I began to panic. So I called Bella.

BPOV

I woke up from my nap to my cell ringing. I had fallen asleep at my desk on top of my homework. I shot up and a piece of paper stuck to my forehead. I peeled it off and answered my phone.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" came Alice's frantic voice.

"Alice? What's wrong?"

"There are these two guys following me!"

My senses finally hit me all at once. "Alice, slow down and stay calm. Who are they?"

"I was at work and these two guys came in and they started harassing me! They stayed for over two hours and now they're following me!" She started to cry.

"Oh my God." I jumped up, grabbed my keys and ran out the door. "Alice, where are you?"

"I'm on the highway. I don't know where to go because if I go home, there might not be someone there because Mom's not answering her phone and then they'll know where I live-"

"Okay," I said calmly, climbing into my truck. "Meet me in a well-lit, crowded area and I'll come get you."

"Okay, I'm on my way. Meet me at the Piazza."

Then I hung up and went to start my truck. But it wouldn't start.

"No, no! Not now! You cannot do this to me now!"

After two minutes of trying, I knew it was no use. So I did the next best thing.

EMPOV

I kicked back on the couch, laughing my ass off while watching South Park. Alice would hate me if she knew. I was about to stuff another handful of chips in my mouth when phone started vibrating in my back pocket.

"Damn it…"

I opened my phone.

"Hello?"

"Emmett, it's Bella. Alice is being followed."

I stood up. "What do you mean she's being followed?"

"These two guys were harassing her at work and now they're following her now that she's off. I was going to get her, but the truck won't start."

"Okay, Bella, I'll take care of her."

"You should call her. She's not okay right now, Em."

"I will," I nodded.

Then I hung up and immediately dialed Alice's number.

"Emmett?" came a frantic voice.

"Babe? Are you okay?"

"No, these guys are following me! I don't know what to do!"

"Come here."

"What?"

"You can't go home or else they'll know where you live. You come here. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too." Her voice broke.

I didn't want to, but I hung up so that she could focus on driving.

Then I waited.

APOV

They were still behind me as I sped up to Emmett's neighborhood. I hoped to God that this didn't end badly. I tried to keep my cool as I slowed down into the cul-de-sac in which Emmett's house stood. The glare of the headlights behind me never even dulled. But in Emmett's driveway, I saw his burly father pacing back and forth in a giant puffy winter coat with a baseball bat in one hand and a hammer in the other.

I parked in the cul-de-sac and got out. I ran past Mr. McCarty and straight toward the house. The front door opened right on cue and I jumped into Emmett's arms. Behind me, I heard the squealing of tires as the Suburban sped away in the other direction.


	8. Homecoming

BPOV

"So you have no idea who they were?" I asked over the phone as I painted my toe nails for the dance.

"No," Alice said in dismay. "I have no clue."

"Well, what did they look like?"

"One had dark hair. He was big and muscular and… kinda scary-looking, especially considering he was fucking thirty-two years old. The other one was blonde and pretty muscular himself."

"How old was he?"

"He didn't say. But he couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen."

"And you didn't catch their names?"

She huffed in exasperation. "Well, I didn't really take the time to get to know my would-be stalkers, Bella!"

"Okay, okay. Just calm down. So you say you went to Emmett's?"

"Yes. There was no way I was going home."

I nodded. "You were right. So I'm gonna finish getting ready, then I'll meet you and the others at Emmett's house, okay?"

"Alright. See you there."

"Bye."

I pulled up at Emmett's and stepped out of my truck. Thank God for new spark plugs. Instead of wearing heeled sandals like everyone else, I wore knee-high leather boots with my short, black strapless dress so that I could easily hide my handgun. I also kept a container of Mace in my purse. We were a very trusting community in Forks, so I didn't worry about getting caught carrying a lethal weapon.

I searched the premises before walking up to the door. Emmett answered it.

"Hey, Bells!" he greeted, scooping me up into a hug. Then he set me down in the house, shut the door, then moved the curtain aside to check for Alice's stalkers.

I sat down on the couch next to Alice as we waited for Rosalie to show up with her date. When she did, I was relieved to know that she had already been informed of Alice's situation.

"So are we waiting for anyone else?" I asked as Emmett sat down across the room.

"Well, I've got a buddy coming over in a bit to carpool to the dance, but he doesn't have to be here for the meeting."

"Oh, really, who?"

"A guy from a college a couple of states over. He's working with us in the tech department until the semester ends."

"Oh, is he bringing a date?"

"I don't think so… as a matter of fact, he seems a lot like a guy you'd be interested in, Bella."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Hmm. Not likely."

Emmett laughed. "Well, anyway, what are we gonna about those two weasels?"

I spoke up. "I don't think Alice should be left alone."

Rosalie cleared her throat. "I agree. Should we hire bodyguards or something?"

Emmett shook his head. "No, that can't happen. Plus, it's a little over the top. We might have to handle this ourselves."

"Well, we can't be there all the time," I said. "What about when she has to go home?"

"She's not going home unless her mom or dad's there. She's got plenty of friends at work, so that's nothing to worry about. But Alice, I don't want you shopping by yourself or any of that other crap that you like to do."

She nodded in compliance. "I won't."

Then Emmett looked at me. "Bella, I want you to stay with anytime she's doing anything other than school, work, or going home where _someone is there_."

I nodded.

Rosalie turned to me then. "Bella, do you have your gun on you?"

I lifted my leg in the air. "Always."

Emmett nodded. "Okay, I doubt we'll need it to night, but I like that you have it. And since these guys have seen her come here, they at least know where her boyfriend lives. So that makes this place-"

"The safest place for her to be," I said.

Everyone looked at me. Rosalie stared at me like I was crazy.

"No, she's right," Emmett said. "They know what they'll find if they come here: a Hagrid-looking giant with a baseball bat in one hand and a hammer in the other. So they probably won't come around. The most dangerous place, though, is-"

"Eddie Bauer," I said.

"Right," Emmett nodded. "So if they come back, Alice, I want you to make sure someone is home before you head there. If there isn't, call Bella and have her be there waiting for you with her gun at the ready. And as a last resort, come here if you have to."

Alice nodded again.

"So is that all we needed to cover?" I asked.

"Yeah. Meeting adjourned."

"Okay," I said, standing up. "In that case, I'm gonna head over to the school and monitor traffic. Alice, you said it was black Suburban?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But it wasn't a nice, glossy black. It was an I'm-old-as-shit black. I don't know what year it was, but it's an older model."

I nodded. "I know exactly what you're talking about. I'll make sure we don't have any unwanted Homecoming crashers tonight. See you guys later."

"Bye, Bells."

Then I headed over to the school.

APOV

We waited for about ten minutes after Bella left when we heard the honking outside.

"That'll be Jake. Let's go."

Then Emmett led us all out to his Tahoe. The college boy named Jake was walking out from behind his truck.

"Hey, man, we're going in the Tahoe."

"Alright." Then he hopped in the backseat. I climbed into the passenger's seat while Rose and Tyler sat in the two seats right behind me and Emmett. Jake climbed into the very back by himself.

As we left the subdivision, we all let out a sigh of relief. Maybe we were all too paranoid about me getting abducted my two weirdos, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

"What were we holding our breaths for?" Jake asked.

"Oh, there are just these two guys we're watching for. They were following Alice yesterday and they followed her all the way here."

"Stalkers?"

"Yup."

"We have a lot of those in California. We call 'em crazies."

"You live in California?" I asked.

"Yeah. My name's Jacob Black."

Then several things happened all in the same split second. Emmett slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, my eyes flew open wider than I thought was even possible, and Rosalie and Tyler both gasped as if they had just heard the most scandalous scandal of the decade.

Then we all shot our heads back to look at him.

He looked back at us like we were all crazies. "What the hell?"

I slapped Emmett's arm. "You didn't know who he was?"

"Well, I had only heard the name Jake. Like hell if I knew it was short for Jacob Black!"

I looked back at Jake. "Oh, this is not good…"

"So you know Bella?" Rose asked.

"Wait, _you_ know Bella?"

We all nodded slowly.

"Oh, shit…"

"Great! This means Bella has a date now!"

We all turned to Tyler.

"What?"

"No, you nimrod," Rosalie said. "Bella does not have a date. In fact, she can never know about Jake. If she finds out that he's here, all hell will break loose."

"How?"

"Because," I told him. "Bella hasn't seen him or heard from him in almost six months. And I'm sure there was a reason Jake hasn't contacted her since." I shot him a look. "Right?"

"Well, yeah," he said. "I live in California. She's here in Washington. What sense does it make for us to stay in touch, especially after what happened? It would be different if we were just friends, but it's not that simple."

"Well, duh," I said. "You freakin' tried to bed her. That sounds like a little more than friends to me."

"Exactly. So it wouldn't make sense for us to keep torturing ourselves when we lived so far away. So I did what I thought was best."

"A clean break," I said. It wasn't a question.

He nodded. "A clean break."

I searched his eyes. He meant it.

"So then why did you decide to come to Bella's school?"

"I was under the impression that she went to school on that Indian reservation in La Push."

"Why? Just because that's where the Clearwaters are? Rachel didn't go to school on the reservation, you know. And she lives there."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I signed one of those crew contracts. I can't get out of it."

"Why don't we just tell Bella?" Emmett asked. "I think she'd want to know."

I sighed. "I'm sure she would. But what about when Jake goes back home? What then? We put Bella through that again? We put Jake through that again? What if it isn't worth it?"

"Alice is right." We all looked at Jake again. "Bella doesn't need to know I'm here. I'm just gonna leave her alone so that she can move on with her life."

Then my cell phone rang. It was Bella.

"Hey, babe. What's the word?"

"It's clear. No fugitives. But I still want you guys to be aware of cars behind you. I'm going inside right now. I'll be waiting in the back."

"Is that where we need to be tonight?"

"No, I want you to stay in the mosh pit as much as you can."

"Okay, we'll do that."

"I'll see you in a bit."

"Alright. Bye."

Then she hung up.

BPOV

I spent the entire evening with Emmett and Alice. I usually kept my back toward them while scanning the crowd for anyone who… wasn't supposed to be there. The nine millimeter was still in my boot and I kept my arms crossed with a stone cold look on my face.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Bella, you look like a hitman when you stand there like that."

"Good. Maybe I should have been the one standing in Emmett's driveway last night."

"You should dance. You're gonna stiff up."

I rolled my eyes. "How much longer do we have?"

But before she could answer, the DJ answered for her.

"Okay, you guys," he said over the speakers. "Just a few more songs and then we'll wrap it up."

"Thank God," I muttered.

So I stood watch as I waited for the music to stop. Just then, Alec approached me.

"You wanna dance?"

I forced a smile. "Sure." Then he put a hand low on my waist.

I didn't look at Alec as we grinded. I tried not to touch him either. The only parts of us that touched were our pelvises as we grinded against each other. Then as the song went longer and longer, we started to go harder and harder. The song was beginning to consume as I let myself go with Alec. I put my hand on his shoulder, but I still didn't look at him.

Then when the song ended, he was suddenly gone. So I went over to Emmett and Alice.

"Wow, Bella," Emmett said in pure shock. "I would've never thought you'd go for the front-to-front grinding! Good for you, girl!"

"Yeah, it was great. We need to get out of here. If we stick around too long, everyone will leave before us and we won't blend into traffic."

"She's right. We need to get out of here."

JPOV

I grinded with lots of girls at that dance. I remembered just how easy some high school girls really were. I saw one guy named Collin with his shirt wide open and his tie around his head with a grind-line of at least three girls by the time it was all over with. I could tell he wasn't stoned or smashed or anything, so I figured he was just one of those I'm-high-on-life kids.

Then the DJ made his announcement.

I looked over at where Bella was standing, still stone cold as she had been all evening. She would make one hell of a hitman 'cause that's what she looked like. And she looked so gorgeous. I wanted to go over there and tell her so… and it was when I saw another guy approach her that I realized I had been walking toward her. I stopped dead in my tracks.

I read his lips as he asked her to dance. And I watched her say yes.

Then I watched as she grinded with him… front to front. I felt the biggest surge of jealousy ever. I was literally seeing red. I wanted to walk over and deck that guy. He sure looked like a ladies' man. He looked like another me. Not physically, of course, but in personality. I could tell by the way he handled her that he knew exactly what he was doing. Just like I did. I could just tell by looking at him exactly what he was. And that was just like me.


	9. Jealousy

JPOV

Miss Kay had taken her fourth period class out into the auditorium to rehearse for their play. That was the class Bella was in. I hadn't seen her in person since Homecoming (and that wasn't even up close), but I knew this was her class because people were constantly saying and calling her name and I could always hear her laughing.

Meanwhile, I was working backstage with Edward to finish these sets. Opening night was Thursday. We had three days.

So I peeked through the curtain to see if I could catch a glimpse of her…

EPOV

I worked with Jacob side by side all morning. Now we were almost halfway through the day. Thank God. Now if only time could move faster. Don't get me wrong, I like Jacob. He was a really cool guy. He was even easier to get along with than Emmett, and I never thought that was possible.

I hadn't heard the drill going in awhile, so I turned to see what Jake was up to. He was peeking through the curtains at something.

So I moved silently behind him and looked just past his head. In clear view was Alice and Bella.

"Getting a good look?" I asked, making him jump and drop the drill, which landed with an earsplitting bang on the deck.

APOV

The moment I heard the bang, Bella's and my head instantly shot up. She glanced over at me, her eyebrows furrowed. I held up a finger.

"Just stay here. I'll be right back."

EPOV

"Damn it, man! What the hell?"

"Oh, don't even try to play. I saw you staring at Alice."

"Excuse me?"

I laughed. "Oh, come on. It's okay, you can say it. We know. She's hot."

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Well… actually, I wasn't looking at her."

"Oh really? Then who were you looking at?"

He shrugged casually. "No one."

I gave him a look. "Dude. That's bullshit. Which girl were you looking at? I could hook you up."

"I wasn't. And even if I was, why would I go for any of the girls here?"

"Uh… maybe because they're all easy? Well, except for Alice…"

Jacob scoffed. "Believe me, man, they're not all easy. And besides, what would be the point of getting with any of them anyway? The semester's over in three weeks."

"So?"

"So I'd end up getting with a girl, getting close to her, and then leaving her just in time for Christmas. And then I'd never contact again."

"Well, that's how it's done. Dude, you're like, nineteen. I thought you knew all this. You dump the chick like a beanbag and you cut all ties because it's _what you do_."

He looked at me like I was a psychopath. "You are definitely a high school boy."

"Come again?"

"Only dickheads do shit like that. The reason _I_ do it is because it doesn't make sense to put a girl through all that. You can call and text and talk all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that you're hundreds of miles away. And soon, that pain of knowing long-distance thing isn't going anywhere grows and it just makes you miserable. The best thing for you and her is to just make it a clean break."

I looked through the part between the curtains where Jake had been peeking as he said this. He sounded so… mature. And it was kinda pissing me off.

"You sound like you've had to do that before," I said suspiciously.

"Yeah, I'll admit it. I had a fling with a girl this summer. It lasted all of two days. I really liked her. I mean,_ really_ liked her. In fact, I still do. Big time. But that's my problem to deal with."

"So if you're still hung up on this mystery girl then why are you st-"

Then it hit me. The last time I had talked to Bella on Facebook, she had just had a fling. I looked back through the break in the curtains. Alice had already disappeared. But Bella still sat there. So that meant…

"Oh my God… you know Bella, don't you!" I said accusingly.

"Shit, would you keep your voice down! She doesn't have to know I'm here."

This suddenly brought on a whole wave of several emotions. I felt powerful. Obviously, Jacob didn't want Bella to know he was there. And she probably wasn't over him. Then I felt a surge of jealousy. Don't ask me why. But I knew that I no longer liked this Jacob guy.

"Well, you know what? No matter why you leave girls twisting in the wind, even if your true intentions are for the best, all of those girls still think you're an asshole. _All_ of them. Because they believe you're doing it for the same reasons the rest of us are. Because you're a douche."

"Then I guess she'd be over it by now. So she doesn't need to know I'm here."

I took a step forward. "What if I tell her?" His fist clenched and I grinned amusedly. "Oh, come on. If you punch me, you'll create a scene and Bella will know you're here. But go ahead. You'd just be doing my work for me. Besides, I don't think Bella will fancy you giving me a black eye."

Jake's eyes narrowed. "What do you know about her?"

I laughed. "She's naïve, fragile… a great ride…"

Jacob's lips curled in disgust and I fought the urge to laugh.

"Oh, like he would know." Jacob and I both snapped our heads to see Alice leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. I immediately felt like an ass. "He's just feeding you that bullshit to set you off. He's never boinked Bella and he knows it. They've never even gone out. He's just trying to get you to snap."

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked her.

"Long enough. And let me give you a little advice. _Don't_ push Jacob. If he decks you, I can easily find a way to distract Bella. Then you just look like a douche bag. Don't let Bella back here when Jacob's around. If you do, I know a guy in the desert that can make you disappear. All we'd need is a car with a clean registration and a shovel. Then we'd have to hop the border and dye our hair and believe me, I will not make it a pleasant experience for you. The same goes for if you tell her about Jake. Am I in any way unclear?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. I won't say anything."

"Or let her wander into his path?"

I huffed. "Fine."

"You swear?"

"Damn it, Alice, I swear! I swear on my own grave."

She nodded in satisfaction. "Good." She started to prance away, but then turned back before she went to the classroom. "Oh, and Edward? I wouldn't try to piss Jacob off if I were you. He's lethal enough to kill you and smart enough to make it look like an accident. And guess what else?" She suddenly looked deadly. "So am I."

Great. I was cornered. If I told Bella, Alice would make me pay. If I let Bella wander into the work area when Jake was around, Alice would make me pay. And if I got Jacob fired up enough to start a fight, Alice would just distract Bella, make the effort be for nothing, and then make me pay. I was angry, peeved, and jealous.

And I didn't even really understand why. All I knew was that I didn't like that Jake had made Bella feel like a queen and I wanted to ruin everything for him. But I couldn't. Because Alice would be after me for the rest of my life and Bella would eventually suffer for it.


	10. More Than You Realize

BPOV

"So have you finished that project yet? Is there anything I need to do?"

I sighed. "No, Liam. There's nothing you _can_ do. My goal is simply to get you to the twelfth grade, 'kay?"

"Okay." He sat down in the seat across from me. "So whatcha writing?"

"My journal. You see me do it every day, loserface."

"Yeah, but I never asked you about it. I bet there's a whole ten pages of me in there, about how I'm your favorite person in the whole world."

"Yeah. That's it."

"So am I in there?"

"If you are, it's only because you annoy me so much."

"You might wanna watch yourself," he said teasingly. "If you're not careful, I might take it from you and burn it."

"As long as you add that valentine to the pile, you pyro."

He didn't respond, which was weird. Usually, he answers with a smartass remark in agreement and starts on this big, elaborate plan that always ends with him blowing that old valentine to dust.

So when the bell rang, he and I walked to second period together, something we had only recently started doing. As we turned down the hall toward the stairwell, he stopped me.

"You got a pen?"

My eyes narrowed. "What, you think I'm stupid? There's no way in hell I'm arming you with a weapon to use against me. Those damn smiley faces are gonna end up giving me ink poisoning." I took another bite out of my energy bar.

"No," he said, his eyes pleading. "I really need it for Lit. I don't have anything."

I rolled my eyes, believing him. Then I turned my back to him. "Go through the big zipper, pull out Wuthering Heights, and there's one sitting right on top of my journal."

"Okay."

I stood there, munching on my energy bar as I felt him rummaging through my backpack. Then he zipped it back up and uncapped the pen. _Damn it, I_ knew _this was a bad idea_…

And sure enough, he locked my wrist in his vice grip.

"Liam, no! You're gonna give me ink poisoning!"

He laughed as he wrastled me to the ground. "No, I'm not. I would never do anything that would kill you, Bella."

"You lie!"

His gripped tightened on my wrist, which hurt like hell. But I guess I had it coming because I continued to struggle. Next thing I know, a pair of hands are on my waist. I look back to see Liam's friend, Diego. I couldn't believe that snake was helping him!

I fought back as hard as I could, doing everything in my power to keep Liam from drawing another smiley face on me. But after a long-ass struggle and throw-down, he won. I finally stood up and brushed myself off to find Diego and Jessica staring at us. My wrists were sore and red from Liam's grip.

"You suck," I growled at him.

He grinned. "I know."

Then I stomped off, leaving him there with his ROTC buddies as I trudged my way to chemistry. By fifth period, I was in another mood. I walked into Ms. Shiles's room knowing that I probably looked withered and worn. 'Cause that's how I felt.

"You know," she said as I walked in, "I really wanna punch the kid who keeps drawing on you."

I smiled. _Yes, you do. More than you realize._


	11. Secrets

"So what size bra do you wear?"

I looked up from Wuthering Heights with a cocked eyebrow. Liam looked back at me, dead serious.

"40A," I said with a straight face.

"36D. That's what I thought." His face was just as straight as mine… until I gasped and my eyes narrowed murderously at him.

"How the fuck did you know that?"

"Well, I was just making my most educated guess, but thanks for confirming!" He grinned.

I scowled as he grabbed my arm and drew three smiley faces on me. "But you're not educated. And I hope you know that Ms. Shiles wants to punch you."

"What did I do now?" he groaned.

"Every day she sees me and she sees the smiley faces all over my arms. So yesterday, she finally said that she wants to punch the kid who draws on me."

"Did you tell her it was me?"

"No. I figured she might kill you in your early years of life… besides, she'll figure it out soon enough, I'm sure."

"You're right. We should tell her together."

"Come again?"

"Yeah, you should come to Ms. Shiles's room with me after Trig and we can show her my epic artistic skills." He beamed like a second grader.

I ripped my arm out of his grip. "No, you psychopath! You're going to that death trap alone! Besides, I actually like that woman, so I don't know what your deal is with her. She's the best teacher we've ever had."

"No, she's not! She's a total bitch!"

"Maybe that's because you act like a total asshole and you never do your work!"

"Why are you talking down to me like I'm some kind of child?"

"Because you're acting like a child! I've never met a bigger child in my entire existence!"

He suddenly looked kinda hurt. "You mean that?"

My face softened immediately. "Oh, no, Liam… I didn't mean it…"

Then the bell rang and we walked together. And just as we were about to part ways at the science building, he grabbed the handle of my backpack and pulled me with him.

"What the fuck are you doing, Li?"

"We're gonna show Ms. Shiles your arm."

"My God, are you ten? I am not going to class with you!"

"Um, well, Bella… it kinda looks like you are. I mean, you're not exactly in a position to be telling me what you are and aren't going to do. Your life is basically in my hands, you know," he said matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes. "Believe me, Liam Scotts, you do not want to try to control me. You will lose."

"Who said I was trying to control you. I'm just say that as long as I've got a grip on you, you're not going anywhere. I guess you could call it a law of physics or something."

I glared at him and he smirked. Then I ripped myself out of his hands and took off toward the chemistry lab.

When I got to the drama room at fourth period, Alice was waiting for me on the couch.

"I see Liam got to you," she noticed.

I rolled my eyes. "Can we _please_ not go there? You guys are gonna wear me out."

"At least your arms are all pretty."

"Shut the fuck up. It's not pretty. It's dumb."

"Aw, you should be nice to him. I think he likes you." She smirked.

"Not likely. He has a girlfriend." I tried to suppress a grimace.

Alice cocked an eyebrow at me. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?"

"You totally looked disgusted when you said that! Do you like him?"

"No way in hell. I just get a little… peeved when a guy who flirts with me reveals that he has a girlfriend, that's all. You know my luck with girlfriends and ex-girlfriends."

"And I know when you're jealous too, Bella."

"Oh, can it. He's such a child. He sleeps in class, he never does his work, and he expects me to carry him through high school on my shoulders. He's very immature. And he's younger than me, so that's an automatic no-no."

"You are so shallow. Why do you keep your expectations so high?"

"I don't know. I just do," I shrugged.

"I think I know why," she said. "You keep your expectations so high because you don't want any guy to be good enough."

"And why would I want that?"

"Because you're afraid of getting hurt again. So if no guy is good enough, you won't hurt because of him. You're scared of commitment."

I laughed out loud. "That's rich! Did you figure that one out on your own? I am not scared of commitment. I want a relationship; every girl does. It's the teenage dream." Then I could hear that god-awful hammering. I waited patiently for the damn nail to get hammered in before I continued, but it never stopped. I sighed.

"It's okay. I'll be back; I have to go to the bathroom anyway. Maybe Edward will be done by then."

I smiled as she got up and left. The hammering stopped after she disappeared and Edward walked through. I averted my eyes as he approached Miss Kay. I sat and waited patiently for Alice to return, but she was taking an annoyingly long time. Then that damned hammering started up again. I jerked my head toward Miss Kay's desk. And Edward was still there. I furrowed my eyebrows and stood up.

I let out a huff as I walked by Edward and muttered, "For the love of God." I walked through the work area toward the stage. Every curtain in the damn proscenium was drawn. And I could still hear the hammering from the apron. I ripped back the mid-stage traveler, then went toward the grand drape. It was dark as hell.

I felt around for the part in the grand drape with no prevail. Then after a few moments of searching, I finally had a grip on the edge of the curtain. And then…

Someone had a grip on me.

I gasped and whipped my head around to see Edward right behind me.

"Bella, what are you doing?" he whispered.

"I'm seeing where this god-forsaken hammering is coming from," I shot back. Then he started to pull on my arm. "What are you doing?"

"Let's get out of here."

"No, I wanna find out who the-!"

But then Edward immediately had his hand tightly over my mouth and his other arm around my waist. I resisted against him, absolutely sick of being manhandled. But he continued to drag me away effortlessly. When I started to kick him, he lifted me in the air and carried me off the stage. I tried to bite him, but I couldn't get the angle right to do enough damage to make him let me go. When we finally got to the lobby, he set me on my feet but didn't uncover my mouth or let go of my waist.

"If I let go of you, will you promise not to scream or run away?"

I hesitated before giving him a muffled affirmation. Then he slowly released me.

"What the hell is going on? Why did you drag me out like a psycho?"

"Can you please be quiet?"

I fumed. "You all have a shitload of explaining to do! You don't think I realize that something's going on? You and Alice and Emmett aren't as good at keeping secrets as you think!"

Edward smirked. "Ah. That old sixth sense?"

I laughed harshly. "As if. You guys are so obvious, I only need one of the five!"

"Look, Bella, I don't know why you're so paranoid all of a sudden, but I just need you to stay off the stage. Think you can handle that?"

I scoffed and shook my head. "Why did that involve gagging me and literally carrying me off? What are you hiding? What's on the stage that you and Alice don't want me to see?"


	12. Other Men to Worry About

Edward took a step forward, pressing me against the wall. There was no way in _hell_ that this was happening. But it _was_ happening. His pelvis was against mine, pressing against me. I tried not to feel anything. I really did. But I couldn't help it. Old habits die hard. But there was no way I could let him see it.

"What are you trying to hide?" I asked him, keeping my eyes wide open and on his as if I didn't notice the sexual tension in the air.

He spoke lowly and sensually. "Can't you just be quiet and enjoy this?" Then he started to kiss my neck. _Holy shit_… CANNOT BE HAPPENING.

"Edward…" I whispered, trying to stay focused. "Edward, wha.. what are you… doing? We can't-"

"Shh…" he whispered into my neck.

I finally let my eyes flutter closed and the rest of the world dissolved. I could hear the squeak of a door opening. I tried to open my eyes, but the tiny little slit that I managed was filled with wetness and ecstasy, of which I was ashamed. This was wrong. I didn't love Edward; not anymore, at least. And he had once made it very clear that he didn't love me.

This was a ruse; I knew it. He was trying to distract me and it was working. And if this was how he was planning to distract me, there must really be something going on that he doesn't want me to know about. _Oh God, Bella, what the fuck are you doing? Wake up!_

It took all of my strength to break away, but I finally did. And the moment I ripped myself from Edward's arms, I took off running for the House. I burst through the door and looked toward the stage.

And saw nothing.

I stood stunned in the doorway until I was suddenly grabbed and turned back to Edward. He pushed me up against the wall opposite the door and his hands roamed my body. What the fuck was going on? And why was Edward doing this?

Then his mouth came close to mine. His lips parted slightly, telling me the one thing I never wanted to hear… or see. I breathed heavily with him as his lips inched closer to mine. I tried to run. God knows I wanted to. I couldn't let him kiss me now. Not like this. I pressed my lips into a tight line, refusing to give in. And just when the moment was right, I pressed my forehead against his. And he complied.

I figured this was okay, considering that one of our most peaceful moments together was sitting on a pouf in a similar position… minus the intimate touching of my body. Then suddenly, that door opened.

"What the _fuck_ are two doing?" Edward immediately turned around and I peered around his shoulder to see Alice standing there, clearly wanting some answers. "Someone? Please, explain. You have my full attention, I assure you."

There was no way I was about to open my mouth. Like hell if _I_ knew what was even going on.

And then I was saved by the bell.

"Well, not that this isn't fun, but I need to get to class."

And against all odds, I walked right by Alice and she didn't even glance at me. She just kept her eyes glued on Edward as I made my way wordlessly to English.

APOV

"What the fuck do you think you are doing, Edward Cullen? Please. Tell me. What exactly was this that I just walked in on?"

"How did you even know we were back here?"

"Jacob told me that he saw you sucking on Bella's neck while I was in the bathroom! Edward, if this is your way of creating a diversion, I'm afraid you're gonna have to come up with a different plan."

"Alice, this wasn't even the plan! It's called improvising!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Okay, so you decide to improvise and seducing Bella is the first thing that comes to mind? Edward, is there something you'd like to say?"

He hesitated, but only for a moment. "No." However, that moment was long enough to tell me everything I needed to know. And that was this: with Jacob, Levi, Liam, and now _Edward_… this was about to get messy…

BPOV

I walked toward Ms. Shiles room when my phone vibrated. I opened it to find a new text message from a number I didn't recognize. So I opened it.

_I told her._

What the hell? But I didn't bother with it 'cause I was almost late for English. When I got there, I immediately sat down. Ms. Shiles took one look at me and sighed.

"Oh dear," she said. "I see Liam got to you."

Then Levi Williams turned to me from three seats over.

"So Liam's the one who's been drawing on your arms?" I didn't dare dignify that with a response. "Why do you let him draw on you?"

"For your information, I did not _let_ him draw on me. You're in ROTC too, Levi. You should know better."

He shrugged. "Fight back. You could take him."

"Well, you're right. But when he's got my wrist in a vice grip, there's only so much I can do."

Ms. Shiles sighed. "What are we gonna do with that boy?"

_I can't exactly dwell on it_, I thought. _I have other men to worry about._


	13. Fatal Distraction

By the time I got home that night, I was stirred up enough to kill. I grabbed my phone and went inside to find everyone gone. All the lights were off and it was pitch black outside. I didn't even flip on a light. Instead, I pulled out my phone.

3 missed calls, 2 voicemails, and a text.

I opened the text first.

Duplicate message.

_I told her._

It was from that same number… and so were the calls. I could only assume the voicemails had come from the number too. So I called my voicemail and listened.

"_Hey, Bella. You're not answering your phone, so I'm leaving a message. It's your favorite person in the whole world. And you need to call me as soon as you get this; it's important."_

Liam?

I didn't question it any further. I called him.

"H'lo?"

"Liam? It's Bella. What's going on?" I asked frantically. "You called?"

"Oh yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I told Ms. Shiles that I was the one who keeps drawing on your arms."

I was stunned. "_That_ was the big emergency?"

"Yup."

"I could kill you, you know."

"Aw, you wouldn't do that. You know you love me. Don't lie."

"Oh, yes. I'm overwhelmed with the imploding feeling of passion every time I see you."

"You should be."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Scotts. You better watch yourself. I'm the last person you wanna mess around with."

"You like to mess around?" The innuendo dripped from his voice. I couldn't help but crack a smile, and I was eternally grateful that he couldn't see it.

"You got the stamina to keep up?"

He chuckled cheekily. "I think my girlfriend might have something to say about that."

I suppressed a growl. I _hated_ it when he did that. "Yeah, I bet she would. So you better watch yourself, like I said."

And the conversation continued for about twenty minutes, not really going anywhere. Yet I still didn't wanna hang up. And when I finally did, I just felt good. It was refreshing to talk to a guy who seemed worth a shit.

Then my phone immediately rang. It was Alice.

"What's up, babe?"

"You feel like shopping with me at the mall after I get off work tomorrow?"

I groaned inwardly. "When?"

"Right after school. I'm ditching after drama, so you can just come straight to Eddie Bauer when you get out."

"For how long?"

"As late as possible. There's a lot I want to get done. Christmas is in, like, three weeks, so I wanna get to all the good stuff early."

I sighed. "I really don't wanna stay out that late…"

"Oh, c'mon, Bells, tomorrow's Friday. Don't be such a whiner. Please? I'd go by myself, but you and Emmett don't want me to get abducted."

I sighed again. "Okay, fine."

"Yay!"

"Okay, well, I gotta go. There's a ROTC girl by the name of Jessica Stanley that I need to tell to keep her contact list to herself."

The next morning, I packed two cans of Mace in the sides of my aerobic pants and then pulled on my knee-high black leather boots in which I hid my gun. Then finally, I topped it off with my leather jacket and set out for school. I went straight to math. I found everyone standing around like they didn't know what to do. I went up to Liam.

"What's going on?"

"We can sit wherever we want." Then he pulled me into the seat next to him… and I liked it. But sure enough, Miss Turner walked in and my glorious good mood popped like a soap bubble.

"No, you cannot sit wherever you want. I just printed off a new seating chart. Nice try, you guys."

"Don't move," Liam muttered to me.

I did as he said. Then when Miss Turner pointed to where I was supposed to sit, I sighed and picked up my things.

"Don't move," he repeated.

"But I sit there. And you don't."

"I don't care."

I hid a smile. This was sweet. In a weird way. But I didn't end up staying with Liam. However, I did like the sentiments. And I was kind of excited to tell Alice about it in drama, but she never showed up. Just as I about to panic, I got a text.

_A:_ _I'm fine, I'm at work, and I'm safe. I just went in early._

Good.

I closed my phone and looked up to see Edward watching me. I quickly averted my eyes the instant I could see him watching. Hopefully, it was discreet enough to evade him. But my train of thought was interrupted by that damned hammering. I was ready to scream.

Then my eyes flickered to Edward. And I knew he had seen the frustration flash across my eyes. I weighed my chances of outrunning him to the stage. I wanted to see what he had to hide. There were unanswered questions all around and I was beyond sick of it. So I decided maybe I better take it slow. It was like teasing a lion. Any sudden movements would bring him on at full speed and power. And I had a feeling I couldn't compete with that. He'd take me down in a second.

So I looked away from him and inched toward the double doors on the other side of the wings. I walked gracefully, slowly, and casually, pulling out my phone to make it look like I was simply walking and texting at the same time. And he actually looked like he bought it. So I disappeared from his sight and went through the door. I silenced it and it shut, so Edward wouldn't hear me… and neither would the mystery man on the stage.

I found the stage in the same condition as yesterday. All the lights were off, but I could see the faint glare from the apron. I had to get to the grand drape. I walked slowly and silently toward the mid-stage traveler. And before I could even get to that, a pair of arms snaked around my waist from behind.

"What are you doing, Bella?" Edward whispered into my ear.

"Finding out what you're hiding from me," I whispered back.

"I can think more fun things to do," he said sensually as his fingers made their way down my stomach and to the button of my jeans. _Oh God, oh God, oh God…_

"You think so?"_ Oh God, oh God, oh God…_

"No, Bella. I _know_."

"You don't know me."

"But I want to."

"I don't know you."

"But you want to."

Then my jeans were slowly unbuttoned and unzipped and I was suddenly against the wall, facing Edward. Then his mouth was on my neck and his fingers still toying with the edge of my jeans. He began sucking on my neck, softly at first, but then harder and rougher within seconds. I realized I was breathing heavily against his shoulder. Not only that, but I was holding on to him for support. It was then that it occurred to me that I didn't have to. He was holding me up effortlessly all on his own.

I tried desperately to blink away the wet, cloudy moisture in my eyes and focus. I didn't want to focus on Edward. I couldn't _afford_ to focus on Edward. There was something on stage that I wasn't supposed to know about, something big enough for Edward to resort to seducing me to keep me away. And Alice seemed to know about this too. Did she know that Edward was doing this? Did she put him up to him? Was she sitting at work right now knowing exactly what was happening to me right now?

No. She couldn't. Alice would never let this happen. I knew right away that she had nothing to do with this. This was just Edward. This was his way of distracting me. _His_ idea. And that's what scared me the most.

Through all this analysis, I felt his fingers pulling at my underwear. But I could tell right away that it wasn't that he didn't know what he was doing. 'Cause he knew. This was foreplay. He was trying to get me hot. And the worst part was… he might very well get his wish.

But I fought against it as best I could. I tried to keep my eyes opened through it all, not letting them close at the tingling ecstasy that rippled through my violently. And as I struggled to stay afloat in this sea of heat, I took the moment to actually realize that this was real. This was no dream. I could pinch myself, but there was no need since his fingernails were digging into my hips.

"Edward…" I went to push him away, but found myself pulling him closer. I could feel the patch of my skin under lips becoming raw. And then he did something I never thought he'd do.

He bit me.

I moaned, a little more loudly than I meant to. That's why he let go of my neck and pressed a finger to my lips.

"Shh…" he whispered.

"Am I bleeding?" I reached up to touch my neck, but he pulled my hand away.

He laughed softly. "No, Bella. You're not bleeding."

"What did you do to me?"

He responded by starting on the other side of my neck. My eyes rolled back and fluttered closed again. I was really starting to get hot. My hands reached up his sides and clutched onto his shirt. I held on so tight my knuckles turned white.

"Bella, relax…"

_How the _fuck_ am I supposed to relax when you're sucking on my neck with your hands in my pants?_

Then his fingers made their way into my underwear. I gasped and held my breath.

"Bella?"

"Edward…" He pulled back to look at me in the eyes. "You don't want to do this. You _know_ you don't."

"Am I not being obvious enough for you?" he murmured.

"Oh, you are. It's very obvious. That you're trying to play me. Again. But let me tell you something, Edward. You're just trying to distract me in the best way you know how. But it won't work." So then I zipped up and buttoned my jeans. "I will figure it all out. I always do. So if you'll excuse me, I have a pixie to guard. I'll see you later, Edward."

Then I walked out on him.

EPOV

I watched her walk away from me. I didn't blame; she had every right. In fact, I was surprised she didn't beat the shit out of me right where I stood. Then all of a sudden, Jacob came through the curtain.

"What the hell was that all about?" he demanded. "It's one thing when you're improvising, but it's a whole other world when you use her for your own sick and twisted horny pleasure! What the fuck is the matter with you?"

"What's got your panties in a knot? You said you didn't want her knowing you were here, and so I provided a distraction. You could at least thank me."

"You started out pretty well yesterday when you just picked her up and dragged her off the stage, but _no one_ told you to seduce her or leave hickeys all over her or try to violate her!"

"I only did what you asked," I smirked. I knew I was asking for it. But after what just happened, I really didn't care.

Jacob got real close to my face. "If I ever witness anything like that again, I will see to it that you suffer. Do you understand?"

I got in his face. "_Make_ me understand."

And he did.

He drew his fist back and punched me in the face, sending me sprawling across the stage. Thanks, Jake. In a way, I felt better. I guess if it seemed as though I was receiving justice for what I'd done, I wouldn't have to feel like shit about it. And I felt like shit. The punch helped for a minute, but not for long.

Then he was standing over me.

"It would be one thing if you had feelings for her, but Alice warned me about you. I know what you did to her. And I won't let you do it again."

Then he walked away just like Bella did.

And I knew he was on to something. _It would be one thing if you had feelings for her_. But what he doesn't know is that I always have.


	14. Rescue

I walked into Eddie Bauer at noon. Alice was in a nearby corner folding clothes. She looked up and she furrowed her eyebrows. I walked up to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Complications at school," I shrugged. "So I came early."

"Well, I get off for lunch in about ten minutes. Wanna go to the Varsity?"

I shrugged again. "Why not?"

So after Alice signed out, I drove us to the Varsity in Port Angeles. We sat down by the window and dug into our amazingly greasy lunch.

"So what complications did you have at school?"

"It doesn't matter."

She was quiet for a second. "You got to Eddie Bauer at noon, so you left halfway through fourth period. What happened?"

"Nothing happened." My voice was casual, but I hoped to God that she couldn't see the blush creeping up my face. Damn that uncontrollable blush! It was one of my worst tragic flaws.

"Then why are your cheeks suddenly pink?"

Son of a bitch!

"It's hot in here."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

So after lunch, I took her back to work and then waited around until she got off. Then we shopped till we nearly dropped. Then the mall closed.

"Alice, let's leave now, okay?"

She groaned. "For once, I'm actually with you on that one." Then we walked out into the parking lot

"So where are you planning on going? Home or Emmett's?"

"Well, I was actually gonna go-" But she was instantly cut off by two men out of nowhere. The bigger one cupped a hand over Alice's mouth the second she started screaming. Then the skinnier one tried to take me on. Since I wasn't the first one attacked, I was alert enough to get the upper hand. He tried to grab me, but I lifted my leg up and kicked him in the side with the top of my foot. I learned that from Buffy. Then I proceeded to give him another swift, hard, and brutal kick in the other side.

"Switch!" he yelled from the ground, then the big, dark guy threw Alice into the other's arms and came after me. I quickly pulled my gun from my boot and pointed it at him.

"Get back!" I ordered.

They both took a step back.

"Give her to me!" I pointed the gun at the skinnier blonde guy. He pushed Alice at me.

I caught her with my other arm while I kept the gun pointed at the gun. I took only a second to look at them. They kept their faces covered, which was smart of them. The bigger one looked like he was in his early thirties and the other couldn't be much older than me. I immediately knew that they were Alice's stalkers from before.

Then I grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her along, running as fast as I could to her car. Then the unthinkable happened. Rather than my uncontrollable blushing kicking my ass, it was my clumsiness. My ankle turned over and came crashing down, pulling a heaving Alice with me. Damn it.

Then the two guys were on top of us. The big one wrestled the gun out of my hand and kicked it away. The other yanked Alice up effortlessly and began to drag her off. She screamed shrilly and I wondered when someone would hear her. I struggled underneath the dark man until he ripped me up off the ground. I folded my arms across my chest and held me tightly as he tried to carry me away. _Oh my _God_, when the fuck are they gonna stop manhandling me_? So I threw my head back hard and sent his head snapping back. Blood immediately poured from his nose and I broke free. I ran after the punk carrying Alice away and jumped him.

I wrestled him down and grabbed my Mace out of my aerobic pants. I pulled the two apart and sprayed the guy in the eyes. When I was satisfied with the yelling, I pulled Alice up and we ran to my truck. We jumped in and I put the key into the ignition. But the son of a bitch wouldn't start.

"NO, NO, NO! You cannot do this to me now!" I tried again. Then again. And again. I kept trying until tears were coming to my eyes.

Then I decided to calm down and do something rational. So I called Emmett.

"Hello?"

"Emmett?"

"Bella? What's wrong? Is Alice okay?"

"No, she's not. These guys are here at the mall."

"Isn't the mall closed by now?"

"Yes, and those two guys from before are here and they attacked us! My truck won't start, I lost my gun, and I just used the rest of my Mace on one of them."

"Bella, they're coming!" Alice shrieked.

Then we both screamed as the two guys slammed against our doors and tried to break in.

"Bella? What the fuck is happening?"

"YOU NEED TO GET HERE NOW! AND BRING A WEAPON!"

"Okay, okay. I'm at the theatre. We're finishing up the set for the musical, but I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten minutes!"

"Hurry!"

Then I hung up.

"Where is he?" Alice asked desperately.

"He's coming. I promise."

Next thing I knew, one of them busted my window in and started grabbing at me. He gripped my arm in his hand and opened my door from the inside. The other did the same on Alice's side. And then all four of us were crammed in the cab of my truck.

"Watch out for legs, man, she'll probably have another gun."

"And would you know?" the big guy demanded.

"Because. It's just what she'd do."

I froze. There was no way…

But it was. The blonde one uncovered his face.

James.

EMPOV

I hung up the phone and turned to Jacob and Edward.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"It's Bella and Alice."

Both of them turned to stare at me.

"What happened?" Jacob asked.

"They were attacked in the mall parking lot. I'm going to kick some ass." I grabbed a hammer. Then I turned around and headed for the door. The other two followed me, grabbing massive tools on our way out.

We climbed into my Jeep and sped toward the mall.

"What exactly did Bella say?" Edward asked.

"She called and said that two guys that followed Alice last month grabbed them in the parking lot."

"Where's her gun?"

"She lost it in a struggle."

"There was a struggle?" Jacob asked incredulously.

I sighed. "Yeah."

"Are they okay?" Edward asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out when we get there."

Edward then turned to Jacob. "I hope you realize what you're doing."

Jacob gave him a hard look. "I think Bella's life is a little more important than some petty, pathetic plan to keep her in the dark from me."

"Then I guess we agree on something."

BPOV

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, my eyes wide as I stared James in the face.

"Well," he shrugged, "I can honestly say that I didn't know Alice was a friend of yours. That turned out to be an unfortunate discovery from our end." He flashed a smirk at me.

I grimaced. "You should've known from the moment you saw me that you would lose this fight. You should've cut your losses and walked away."

"Well, you don't exactly look like you're a winner, Bella Swan."

"And what exactly do you and the Incredible Hulk plan to do next? I think you've met a dead end."

"Oh, Bella. Poor, sweet, naïve Bella. There's never a dead end. Ever." Then reached over and grabbed my hair and yanked me toward him. For the first time, I was afraid of what he'd do. "But you know, this really had nothing to do with you. And we don't really need an extra body around. So we'd have to get rid of you somehow." I refused to let the fear reach my face as he grinned his wicked grin.

Then suddenly, both doors were nearly ripped from their hinges and it was like a SWAT team had swarmed the truck. James disappeared from my line of sight and I could hear Emmett's string of profanities echo across the parking lot. I could hear someone being punched repeatedly. I assumed it was James because the big guy was still on top of me, trying to grab for Alice while crushing me.

"Bella!" Alice screamed.

"Emmett get her out of here!"

"Dude, nail this guy!" I heard Emmett order before Alice also disappeared.

Then after a few seconds, I could feel the big guy getting pulled off of me. "Edward, get her!" Emmett yelled.

Then a hand encircled my wrist and I was pulled away from the man. But then he latched onto me, growling profanities as he clawed onto my hips. I screamed bloody murder, telling Edward to pull harder. So he reached in and wrapped his arms around my torso before pulling me. Then the man grabbed the ankle that I had turned over and pulled it in a vice grip. I screamed again, and Edward threw me over his shoulder so that he could free my foot as Emmett grabbed the guy and started wailing on him.

He took a few steps back before setting me down easily. Then he cupped my face in his hands and eyed me carefully.

"Bella, are you alright?"

I nodded, breathing heavily.

"Bella!"

My head shot to the side to see someone drop James on the ground and come toward me. My eyes widened when I saw him. I had literally only dreamt about this. Jacob Black was running toward me.

And when he got to me, he lifted me into his arms and held me close. I felt his fingers entangle themselves in my hair and I closed my eyes as the tears came. I clung to him with everything in me. He let me go and checked me over, then he brushed my cheek with the back of his hand, leaving my face tingling.

"Are you okay?" he asked me gently.

I nodded again. "Yeah, I'm fine." Then I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He kissed me back eagerly. Then I pulled away. "My God, where did you come from?"

He smiled. "I've been here for a couple of weeks. I've been working on the set for the musical with these guys the whole time."

I gaped at him. "At my school? Why didn't you say anything? Or come talk to me?" Then I turned to Edward. "You knew about this?"

"Yeah, he did," Jake cut in. "But I told him and the others not to tell you 'cause I didn't wanna have to leave you again."

"Didn't you think I'd wanna know?"

"That's exactly what I thought. But Bella, I'm leaving in a week. Then my semester starts for college classes. So I won't be back. I just didn't want us to get attached and then…"

"Too late. You had me at hello. And you know it."

He smiled. And I swear to you, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I didn't care if we only had a week or a day. The point is he was here with me now. And there wasn't another place in the world I'd rather be than right here in his arms.

But in the back of my mind, I knew. It really _does_ matter how long we have. 'Cause that's how long my heart has until it breaks.


	15. Almost Lover

After the cops were called, statements were taken, James and company were arrested, and my assaulted truck was towed away, I retrieved my gun. For some odd reason, I found it lying next to the giant that had attacked me. Then the guys drove us back to the theatre. We all piled into Emmett's Jeep, leaving Alice's Porsche at the mall since she was too shaken up to drive. Emmett had Alice up front with him while I sat in between Edward and Jacob in the back.

It was an overall quiet ride for the first few minutes. I didn't say anything as I held pressure on my thigh, which had been bleeding kind of badly. I wasn't even sure when it happened. No one said a thing until Alice started sobbing hysterically. Emmett could do nothing but grip her hand in his silently.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. This all my fault," she cried.

"No, it wasn't, Alice. This was _not_ your fault. People get stalked by psychopaths; no one asks for this. I know _you_ didn't."

"I provoked him; I know it! The first time they ever came into Eddie Bauer, I was asking for it! I was pretty rude in a snobbish way, like I was way out of his league!"

"Who?" I asked her.

"James," she sniffled.

I shook my head intently. "No. It wouldn't have mattered how you responded to James, he would have done this anyway. He's a sex addict, Alice."

"James?" Edward asked. "Is he the guy who-"

"Yes," I said. "He dumped me on the side of the road in Port Angeles a year ago. I knew he was bad news. I just never imagined that he'd be one of Alice's stalkers. He doesn't even live around here. Ow!" I clutched my thigh as it began throbbing painfully.

Jacob grabbed my wrist.

"We're almost to there, Bella," Emmett said. "Hold on."

I lifted my hand to see it smeared with quite a bit of blood, though not covered. "Oh my God…" Jake muttered.

Emmett looked back and saw my hand and leg. "Jake, I've got a T-shirt back there somewhere. Hold it on her 'til we get there. It shouldn't be but a few more minutes."

Jake did as he was told and pressed the cloth against my skin. The fabric on my pants had been ripped away at the thigh. The edges were now jagged and bloody.

I looked up at Jacob several times, but he never said anything to me. I could tell he wanted to, but I also could tell that he had no intention of saying anything with everyone else in the car. However, I knew it really had nothing to do with Emmett and Alice. I could feel the tension between him and Edward, though. I could glance in Edward's general direction and know right away that he knew my history with Jacob. How could he not? He had obviously been working with him this whole time.

Then it finally occurred to me. Jacob was what Edward was keeping from me. That was where the hammering was coming from and everything. Jake had asked him to keep me from finding out, so he seduced me as a distraction… and Jake probably knew about that too. No wonder they were both so tense.

When we finally got to the theatre, Jacob carried me bridal-style through the door and straight to the dressing room that had been left unlocked. He set me up on the counter and the others followed. Alice retrieved the first-aid kit from the bathroom and made me strip my pants. Even with three boys in the room, I didn't have a beef with that at this point in the night. After all, Edward was a womanizer, Emmett was an ex-womanizer, and Jacob had seen me in less.

The guys uncovered my leg and there were three gasps and quick footsteps headed for the toilet. Not a second later, we could all hear Alice heaving in the bathroom.

"My God, Bella, you look like you were _shot_!" Emmett exclaimed.

"She was," Edward replied semi-calmly, though as he looked me in the eyes, he looked like he was going crazy. He quickly looked away. "A bullet definitely grazed her."

"How do you know it's not still in there?" Alice's voice echoed from the toilet bowl.

"Because," he said. "Where she got hit is right over a main artery. If the bullet was still inside, she wouldn't be able to move her leg and she'd be bleeding a hell of a lot more than she is right now. We just need to make it stop."

Emmett opened the first-aid kit as Jake intertwined his fingers in mine like he did our first night together. After alcoholing and disinfecting the gunshot wound, they pressed a towel on it. Emmett looked around.

"Where's the gauze? There's supposed to be some in there, but I don't see it."

"It's probably in that other kit that Mr. Banner used to keep in the work area. I'm not sure where it is, though."

"Well," Emmett said, "I really need to get Alice back to my place; it's getting kinda late."

"What time is it?"

"About nine. So I'm taking Alice and heading out. If you could look for that aid kit and you and Jacob take care of Bella, that'd be great."

"Yeah, sure. I'll lock up before we leave."

Emmett gave Edward a single nod before peeling Alice off the bathroom floor and leaving with her. Once they were gone and out of the theatre, Edward slowly turned back to me and Jacob, who had his eyes glued to me.

"I guess I'll go look for that kit," he muttered before vacating his awkward position.

I turned back to Jacob. "You're hair's gotten longer."

"Yours too," he smiled. "It's beautiful."

I smiled. "Thanks."

Then we were both quiet for a long time until Jacob spoke, still keeping his eyes on my leg. "I missed you, you know."

"I missed you too. I can't believe it's been six months already. It doesn't feel like it's been that long at all."

His fingertips grazed my bare thigh, like they did while we were in the pool together. "Who was James?"

I sighed. "A sex addict that I got mixed up with last fall. We dated and he tried to feel me up twice. When I said no, he got pissed and left me stranded out by the Bronze. I never heard from him again until tonight when he attacked Alice."

"Bastard… well, it doesn't look good for him, so I doubt we have anything else to worry about from him." He paused and pushed my hair back from neck on one side. I suppressed a gasp because I had forgotten about the hickeys. "So… what's the deal with you and Edward?"

My heart jumped into my throat. "Me and… Edward?"

"Yes."

"We used to be friends… we kinda still are, I guess… but it's nothing more than that."

He smirked. "Coulda fooled me."

"I'm guessing you saw us in the wings."

"You mean when he had your jeans halfway down? Yeah, I was there. And when he had you out in the lobby."

"Are you mad?"

"At him, yes. At you, no. Alice and I told him to keep quiet about me and to keep you from finding out about me being here. No one told him to try to seduce as a way of keeping you in the dark; he did that on his own. And I have a feeling that he was playing some sort of card by doing that." He eyed me intently.

"An old flame," I said simply. "Nothing ever came of it, but I guess he figured I still felt that way about him. I don't. But it did take me by surprised. And I was shocked, believe you me. It was kinda like when you have one of those out-of-body experiences. It meant nothing to me."

"I didn't think it did." He gave me a small smile and his hand trailed up my leg. He brought his face close to mine, and my eyelids fluttered closed when I could feel his breath on my lips.

EPOV

I finally found that damn kit and I made my way back to Bella. I had left the door to the dressing room propped open, so I could just walk straight in. But when I got to the doorway, I was immediately halted.

Jacob and Bella were kissing.

Anger started to flood through me, but I respected Bella enough to leave. So sat back on the couch and waited for them to get done. And then I realized that this was very pathetic. I had never been in such a sad position in my life. Once upon a time, it had been Bella having to make a discreet exit so that I could have my way with Tanya or Jane. But now it was Bella lip-locking with a guy I hated while I stood single in the background.

The girl I had been trying to get with, Emily, didn't want me and was going out with one of the actors in Bella's play. Emily and I were friends, but I wanted to be more. She didn't, which is just wrong, because I've never been rejected… well, unless you count Jane dumping me _twice_. So I immediately go on the rebound with the star of our last musical, Claire. But honestly, I hate her. She's annoying and petty and stupid and I cannot stand her. I think Emily knows that my relationship with Claire sucks, which sucks even worse. But I keep trying to play it off like it's the greatest relationship in the world.

So now, my love life is shit while everyone around me is happy with their significant others, including Bella. I will never admit it out loud, but I think this is definitely karma.

But I'm not completely stupid. I know that she reacted earlier to our… meeting in the wings. Just like she reacted in the lobby. She could feel it. And I know because I could feel her feel it and I felt it too. But the strangest thing is that at the moment, I wanted nothing more than to stalk up to Jake and Bella and rip her away from him. It infuriated me that they were in there making out. It was jealousy in purest form. Some would say that I was jealous of what they had and I just wanted them to be as miserable as I am. But it's more complicated than that. Sure, I wanted Emily to choose me over that other douche, but I just wanted to take Bella for myself. It was a selfish need to have _Bella_, not what she had with Jacob.

I would deny that for the rest of my life, though. Mainly out of egotistic pride. After all that time she spent pining for me, the second she falls for someone else or just loses interest in me, I finally realize how beautiful and happy and wonderful she is. And right now, another guy was in that room with his mouth on hers. His hands were probably roaming her body even more provocatively than mine had earlier.

I quickly pushed that thought out of my head. Just thinking about any form of intimacy between them enraged me. So I just calmly walked back toward the dressing room. They were still kissing. So I found a chair near the open door and started kicking it around a little, letting them know I was coming. And sure enough, when I walked in again, Jacob was leaning against the counter next to her, facing me. They both looked so casual… except for the slight blush in Bella's cheeks. Wow. In the whole minute I left them alone, he had managed to get her hot. Hell, _I_ hadn't even managed that and I had five!

I grudgingly (though I had to work my ass off not to show it) walked over to where Bella was sitting up on the counter. I set the kit down next to her and opened it up. I pulled out the large roll of gauze and the medical tape. Then I pulled up a stool, pulled Bella to the very edge of the counter, and set her foot up on the stool. I glanced over at Jacob and he was holding back a grimace. I suppressed a smug smile as I unraveled the gauze and started wrapping it around Bella's wound, which was kinda high up on her leg.

When I finished, I added the adhesive. When I rubbed it on, I rubbed a little longer than I had to "to make sure it stuck." Bella glanced up at me discreetly and I met her gaze. She was getting so much harder to read. But when I saw Jake intertwine his fingers through hers, I looked away.

"You're done," I said, letting my hands fall from her thigh.

"Thank you, Edward," she said, jumping off the counter. "So now what?"

"Now we leave. And you don't have your truck, so I guess I'll take you home," I said matter-of-factly.

"It's okay, Jake can do it. He knows where I live."

That made my blood run cold. I bet he's been in her bedroom too. "Well… okay. Do you need anything else?"

Bella smiled at me slightly. "No, Edward, I'm fine. Jake's gonna take me home and I'll see you on Monday."

I hesitated before nodding. Normally, I would've hugged her, but after our encounter (or better yet, my attempt at seduction), that was probably the last thing I needed to do. God, I hated this. Jacob had actually won her heart fair and square. Plus, he was a good guy, that bastard. And I will bet my life savings that he'll stay the night at her house tonight…

BPOV

Edward looked very peeved with us when he came in with the first-aid kit. He could probably smell the sexual tension from Jacob kissing me. I was habitually apprehensive of Edward's true inner monologue, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was jealous. So I was kind of relieved when he didn't make a move to hug me before Jacob and I prepared to leave.

"Edward, are you walking out with us?" I asked. I hated to leave anyone alone in the theatre after dark. And it was already inching toward nine-thirty anyway. Nowhere near curfew, but still…

"Sure. Just let me put all the kits away and lock up."

Jake and I waited patiently for Edward as he cleaned up. When he finished, he followed us out the door and locked up. I sent Jacob on out to the car and decided to give Edward a minute or two of my full attention.

"Thanks for the bandages, Edward. Sorry we put you through hell."

"What?" He seemed taken aback.

"Me and Alice. You didn't have to come to the rescue, but you did anyway. Thank you."

"You and Alice are my friends. Of course I'd come."

"Well, thank you again. You were a big help."

He looked like he wanted to ask me something, something I didn't wanna discuss. Then he finally asked it.

"What's the story with you and Jacob?"

Wow. That was subtle. "Why?"

"I just wanna know."

"A girl with class doesn't kiss and tell."

"Do it anyway. What's with this guy?"

"Goodnight, Edward."

Then I turned and walked to Jake, who was across the parking lot leaning against his car. He put his arm around my shoulders as he led me to the other side, opened the door, and shut it once I got in. Then we drove off toward my house.

"Is your cell number still the same?" he asked me as we left campus.

"Yes."

"Good. So what's the deal with Edward?"

I groaned. "What is it with you two? Why is it that you both keeping asking me about the other and you relate to me? Is there something I need to know about?"

Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head. "The guy just irks me, that's all. I mean, he totally attacked you out in the lobby yesterday and again today backstage. He just rubs me the wrong way."

"Don't let him get to you," I told him. "That was my first mistake."

"Well, he seemed to be getting to you earlier."

"If he had succeeded in getting to me, I would have lost my virginity right there on that stage. Or at least have gotten fingered. If I wouldn't let you do it, I'm probably not gonna let him do it either."

"He sure was working you…"

"To no avail," I reminded him. "I've seen Edward's bullshit for the past year and a half. I know how it all works. A guy who kisses my neck but never my lips is only trying to get one thing. I'm smarter than that, Jake. Especially now. Now more than ever."

He nodded, almost as if in satisfaction. "Yeah. I heard what you said to him right before he probably would have stripped you right there. You know, he was playing you again and you knew he was just trying to distract you, but it wouldn't work and all that. It even amazed _me_. And Edward was pretty floored when you left. I punched him for it."

I turned my head toward him, but I didn't react. 'Cause honestly, Edward needed it. And he wasn't bruised or anything when I saw him earlier, so he was definitely okay. I just wished they had never found out each other's connection to me.

"Where are you staying?" I asked.

"Clearwaters' basement… _usually_."

I smiled at him having picked up the purpose of my question. So when we got to my house, I ordered him to park down at Charlie's warehouse just like all the other guys had done. Then we walked up to the house together and snuck into the house through my bedroom window. Ten o' clock and everyone seemed to be out. Not a light on in the house.

I changed into light and minimal bed clothes since I usually slept naked. Then Jake stripped down into just his boxers before climbing into bed with me. We didn't say anything at all after that. No words were necessary. I just laid down next to my almost lover and fell asleep with my head on his chest.


	16. High

JPOV

I woke up to the sun shining through the trees outside Bella's window. I was used to seeing the sun first thing in the morning, but I knew it would be a nice surprise for Bella. I glanced up at the alarm clock next to the bed and saw that it was nine o' clock. Then I looked down at her sleeping face. She looked so beautiful and peaceful; I couldn't wake her. After I night like she had, I expected he'd want to stay asleep. But then she sighed and her eyes eventually fluttered open. I smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Good morning, love."

She smiled back. "Good morning. When did you wake up?"

"Just a couple minutes before you. I was gonna let you sleep; I figured you'd be tired."

"With Jacob Black in my bed? Dream on. I couldn't sleep past nine if I wanted to."

I smiled again and leaned in and kissed her.

BPOV

After waking up to Jacob's beautiful face that morning, I knew it was gonna be a good day. There was still another six days or so before he would leave, so this was the perfect start to everything. We got up and then snuck downstairs. It was really quiet, so I went back to my window to see if any of the cars were gone. Charlie and Renee were both gone, but that didn't say anything about Ben.

"Stay here," I whispered to Jake before tip-toeing downstairs. There was a note on the microwave from Renee.

_I took Ben to baseball practice and your dad's working late. We'll be back by noon. Love you –Mom_

I walked back to the foot of the stairs and looked up at Jake, who was waiting patiently, leaning forward against the banister. "We're clear. Everyone's gone."

So he came downstairs and he helped me make breakfast. I made the homemade biscuits while he multitasked with the bacon, eggs, and sausage. I had the best almost lover ever. He was the first guy I met that could actually cook and do it better than me.

"What, you don't make them with lard like they do in the south?" he asked me as I poured the vegetable oil in the mixture.

I shook my head. "I admit, they're even better that way, but I swear to you, I make some mean biscuits this way. I learned from my grandmother."

"My mom taught me how to cook. She said that she would never let me leave the house or get married if I never learned how." He laughed.

I smiled. "You have a good mom."

"Yeah, she's the best."

"And she raised you right," I told him, pointing my mixing spoon at him. "I remember when you were flirting with me that first day, and then you held the door open for me after dinner going to the pool. That was what made me start really paying attention. Your manners."

He laughed. "Well, I guess I forgot them a couple of time in the pool…"

"Try several," I said, cocking an eyebrow. "You reminded me of a horny puppy."

He made a face at me. "Oh, please, you know you were into it. That's why I almost got in that one time."

"Yeah, well, if you had gone much further, you would have run into something unpleasant. It wasn't the best time of the month to be doing that."

"What, a full moon?"

I laughed out loud. "Yeah, that's it."

I continued stirring, and then I felt his hand on my bare shoulder. He dragged the tips of his fingers down my arms, making me shiver. Then he fixed his fingers into the top of my pajama pants.

"Are you on your period now?" he asked lowly into my ear.

"No."

"Then what's stopping us this time?"

"Breakfast," I whispered.

I felt him smile against the back of my neck. Then he looked back at the sizzling food on the stove. "Touché."

I smiled and went back to work. I cut them into individual biscuits and put them in the oven. Then I turned to see Jake's progress. The first four pieces of bacon were already done and on the plate. I picked up a piece and bit into it. "You aren't half bad at this. Does your dad know how to do this?"

"Yeah, more or less. But I'm so much better at it." He grinned, taking a slice for himself. "And I guess we'll see if you're as good as you say you are with those biscuits." Then he lifted the lid off of a saucepan and flipped all the sausages over.

After breakfast, I changed into some workout clothes and plopped onto the couch next to Jake. He had flipped on Regis and Kelly.

"So when are your parents supposed to be back?"

"Renee and Ben will be home at about noon, but knowing Renee, we've got at least until twelve forty-five."

"What about Charlie?"

"He'll be at work until ten tonight, at least. We've got three hours of alone time."

A sly smile spread across his face as he leaned down to kiss me. Our kisses never start out softly. That was something I realized the night before. There were always those kisses you read about that start out slow and soft and romantic, and then they grow more passionate over time. My kisses with Jacob were never like that. They started out hard and we continued to go hard. And we were going hard right now.

As the kiss deepened further and crossed the line between kissing and making out, Jake lifted up a little to give me room to sit up and position myself on his lap; I was straddling him. Then his lips moved from my mouth to my neck. He found my spot right where my neck ended and my shoulder began. My eyes rolled back and a sharp moan escaped my lips. Then I felt his lips against my cleavage. The small amount of facial hair on his upper lip prickled my breasts slightly. If he was trying to get me hot, it was definitely working. In fact, I was pretty sure I was already there. But when he started to finger my pajama pants, I pulled back a little.

"Not here," I whispered. Jake was the one and only person I was willing to let do this, but there was no way in hell that I could live with having it done right here on the couch. The place my parents cuddle at ten o' clock at night after a long day at work. It would disappoint them if they knew what Jake was about to do, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. So the least I could do was not let this happen on their couch.

Jake seemed to read my mind or at least realize on his own. So we rushed hand in hand back to my bedroom and closed the door behind us. Then I jumped back into his arms and he pressed his lips hard against mine. After a few seconds, he let us free fall onto the bed with him on top of me. My fucked up dream flashed across my mind as we continued to make out, me losing my virginity to Jake. I knew it would never happen, but it made my heart pound even harder to think about it.

When Jake finally lifted himself off me enough to gain access to my pants, my heart rate skyrocketed. It began pound so hard that I thought it might pound right out of my chest. He gripped the edges of my pajama pants and my panties and pulled them down, not wasting any time. I lifted my hips to help him out and they slipped right off into his hands. He dropped them on the floor at the end of my bed and turned his attention back to me.

He laid down next to me and pulled the covers over us for my own comfort. I liked that he was going to do this lying next to me rather than leaning over me. It made me feel like we were equals in this rather than him having some sort of sexual control over me, although that was kinda how it was, though not in a power hungry sort of way. He was in control of the situation in a responsible way. And that brought me further comfort.

He put his hand on my knee and his hand trailed up the inside of my thigh as I allowed him access. The feeling was like nothing I had ever felt before. He immediately found the spot and I closed my eyes against his touch as another moan escaped my lips. Jake began to work faster and pleasure coursed through my body to ungodly heights. I almost didn't remember who or where I was. But I never forgot Jake or the fact that he was the one doing this to my body. And I was loving it.

I involuntarily reacted and found myself moving with the movements of Jake's fingers. My moans grew a little louder, and I felt Jake's lips on mine, sucking softly on my lower lip. Then he bit down on it just hard enough to increase the pleasure. Then I moaned loudly as I felt myself start to come. The ecstasy was mind-numbing, and my face showed the pleasure I was feeling. The moans grew louder as the orgasm finally reached its peak, and Jake rested his forehead against my cheek as if to ride it out with me the rest of the way.

And when I was finished, I was breathing heavily and I couldn't see all that straight. But when my vision cleared and my heart rate stabilized, I looked up at my new hero.

"How did that feel?" Jake asked me, leaning down to kiss my neck.

"Perfect," I answered. "Though I don't have anything to compare it to."

He smiled against my neck.

"Now what can I do for you?" I asked, though I don't know why I did; I wouldn't know what to do.

"Nothing. I came with you, Bella."

"What? But I didn't even do anything. What is it with guys and wanting to finger girls? I mean, it does nothing for you."

"Yes, it does. We get pleasure out of pleasuring you. Your reactions are enough to make us come too."

Then all of a sudden, we heard the front door shut downstairs. I shot my head toward my door. "Renee!" I whispered fiercely.

"I thought they weren't supposed to be home for another two hours!"

"So did I! I guess Ben got hurt or something. He's accident-prone as I am. That's the only time he ever comes home early from practice," I told him as I pulled only my pajama pants back on. "I better go down and see what's wrong."

But Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Bella, you cannot go down there," he told me seriously.

"Why not?"

"Uh, maybe because you're blushing." He sounded like I should know this.

"And? I blush all the time."

"Not like this. Renee will notice in a heartbeat. Your cheeks look like you've just orgasmed. And if she sees it, we're in for it."

"Oh, please! Don't be a drama queen. She won't know anything. She's not that observant."

"You say that, but how would you know? Most adult women that have ever had sex can spot it."

I got quiet. "When will it go away?"

"Give it an hour or so. You're gonna be on a high for awhile."

Then his phone went off. He opened it.

"Damn," he said quietly. Then he looked up at me. "I need to get back to the Clearwaters'. Sue's looking for me. Apparently, her car won't start and Harry's out of town. I better go help her."

"Okay," I said as he kissed me once on the lips as a husband would his wife before departure.

"I'll see you later, babe." And then he winked at me before climbing out my window.


	17. AllNighter

It was one o'clock in the morning. I was lying in my bed while reading _Nightshade_. Jake didn't stay the night since the Clearwaters hadn't seen much of him. But luckily, they agreed to let him off on his own after tonight, so he'd be able to stay the night with me until the end of the semester. That also meant that I could sleep naked tonight. Yay.

I yawned and set my book down as I rubbed my eyes beneath my glasses. I played with the end of my ponytail, and then I was jostled out of my sleepy stupor by the vibrating of my cell phone. I knew immediately who it was before I even looked at it sitting there on my nightstand. So I answered.

"One AM? Really?" I said.

Liam laughed from the other end. "Yes, really. Somehow I just knew you'd be up."

"You got lucky this time 'cause I almost never do this."

"Do what?"

"Stay up this late. I was about to go to sleep right before you called."

He laughed again. "So guess what I heard."

"What?"

"That you need me."

I almost shot up out of my bed and nearly choked on my own spit. But I was still able to hold my own without letting him sense my sudden discomfort. "You don't say? And who in God's name would tell you that?" As if I couldn't guess.

"I have my people."

Bullshit. "Do these people have names?"

"Not to you."

_Okay, Skippy, if this is how you wanna play it…_ "Well, I don't know why Jessica would tell you that, but I assure you that I never said it."

"Oh, you know it's true. Don't lie."

"Why would I lie? It never gets you anywhere."

"That doesn't mean you won't do it."

_Touché_. "Don't strip your gears. I've gone nine years without you and, by God, I can do it again."

"That doesn't mean anything," he said. "Besides, who would you get an epic valentine from if you didn't have me?"

"Liam, _I'm_ the one who gave _you_ the valentine."

"Which reminds me, my mom let me see that valentine you made me today."

Let _him see it? What the hell?_ "Really?"

"Yeah."

"What does it look like?"

"Piece of cardboard with these lacy-looking red, white, and pink hearts on it and it says 'I love you' in the middle of a heart you drew."

I blushed a little. That would have been awkward, but it just felt so comfortable and normal to be having this conversation with him.

"Just remember that was eight years old when I did that. I was a little kid."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I'm gonna have to get you back for that, you know."

"How?"

"Well, I know your bra size, so I'm thinking I'll make a trip to Victoria's Secret."

"Don't you dare!"

"Oh, yes. It's happening. All I have to figure out is where you park."

"Oh my God, you're planning to leave Victoria's Secret lingerie by my car?" Liar.

"Oh, no. I would never do that." He paused. "I'd leave it unwrapped on the hood of your car."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, wouldn't I?"

"No, you wouldn't. I _know_ you won't."

"You really do underestimate me, Bella. And now you're gonna be pissed when I do it."

"Whatever, Scotts. Just keep talking."

_**2 AM**_

"What color is your hair?"

"Like you don't know my hair color," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Liam, you see it every day."

"Just put it into words."

"Uhh… dark brown with a hit of red when I'm in the sunlight."

"Cool. This girl they're talking about in these song lyrics I'm reading has brown hair."

Cue uneasiness and slight discomfort. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm just on my computer, looking up song lyrics."

_Oh, shit. Here we go…_ "What else are you doing?"

"Playing with fire, loading guns, and stuff like that."

_**2:30 AM**_

"Hey, what was the homework yesterday?"

"You weren't paying attention?"

"No, Bella, of course not. You know that."

"Well, I'm sorry, but checking on the homework would require me to get up. My bedroom is 59 degrees because Dad hasn't changed the filter, and I am not dressed for the big chill."

"What are you wearing?"

_Oh,_ hell _no_. I hesitated.

"Are you naked?" he asked me, as though it was the simplest question in the world.

"What does it matter?"

"That was confirmation enough," he smirked. "Don't worry, it's about 75 in my room, so I'm nude too."

"Good to know…"

He sighed in satisfaction. "So this is happening? We're both lying in bed naked, talking on the phone?"

"I guess so. Wouldn't your girlfriend have something to say about this, though?"

"I don't have one anymore," he said simply and casually.

OH SHIT. Boy, you have no idea how much harder you've made this for me… God, I was _surviving_ on the assumption that he had a girlfriend! Last I checked, he had one and I assumed she was keeping him from pursuing me! Damn it! "I'm sorry," I said as sympathetically as I could.

"It's all good. Did you know her? Makenna Jones?"

"Uhh… no, I didn't."

"Yeah, she was a senior. We still have ROTC together, so it's still a little weird, but I'm good."

"Good, I'm glad… that you're good, I mean."

"Yeah, it wasn't a good relationship. Makenna was a user."

"I know how that feels," I said, my mind immediately reverting back to Edward. "It sucks to get used."

"Who used you?"

"Just some guy."

"How?"

I sighed. "I just wasn't good enough, I guess. He told me all the things he thought was wrong with me. He offered to help me get a 700-dollar makeover. So basically, my body is a 700-dollar wreck to him."

There was a long pause. "Are you serious?"

"That's what he said."

"Well, he's a douche. You're not bad-looking. I'd date you."

I felt the sudden urge to vomit. "What did you say?" I asked as though I hadn't heard him.

"Oh, it's almost three in the morning; I don't know what I'm saying. But you don't look bad, Bella. I swear."

I forced a smile. "Thanks, Li. I really needed to hear that."

"Any time, Bella."

_**4 AM**_

"So have you ever had phone sex?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Want to?"

_WTF?_ "Liam, it's four in the fucking morning. You have had me up since one. I am not in the mood for phone sex."

"But you'd be a willing participant?"

I gaped. "Did I say that? Did those words ever leave my mouth?"

"They didn't have to."

"Look, Liam, I am one of those girls that are so open a book that it makes me seem like the most mysterious chick on the planet. If I didn't say, I'm not feeling it."

"If you say so. Just like you said you need me."

"Sorry to disappoint, but Jessica lied to you. I have never said any such thing."

"Yeah, I figured she was just trying to make me feel better."

After that, I felt kinda bad. I never said that I needed him, but I guess I did, in a way. He was a pretty good friend below the surface, even if he seemed a little rough around the edges. So we talked and talked to further ungodly hours of the night. It was nice. Deep in the pit of my stomach, there was a feeling brewing within me that meant trouble was ahead. But as I spent the next three hours talking to Liam, it seemed to be suppressed.

_**7 AM**_

"Liam, can I please go to sleep now?" I whined into the phone.

"No! Fight it! Stay up and talk to me."

"But it's seven in the morning, Li! We've been talking for, literally, six hours straight! I'm exhausted!"

"If you hang up, I'll keep calling."

"I'll shut my phone off."

"I'll spam it."

"No, you won't."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah?"

"YEAH!"

He sighed. "Okay… I'll let you sleep."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I smiled. "Thanks, Li."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

I laughed. "Well, I'll see ya."

"Bye. Have a good sleep."

I smiled. "Thanks."

Then I hung up. Not long after that, I fell asleep, that smile still playing on my lips.


	18. I Think She's In Love With Him

On Monday, I trudged from second period to third, where I suddenly heard a screech of my name from across campus. I looked up to see Angela Weber and Eric walking toward me, holding hands.

"We were just talking about you, daughter!" Angela said in her high-pitched voice that never failed to make me laugh.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Eric said. "We started talking about people that we like and I said, 'I like Bella; she has a nice ass.'"

"We share your ass," Angela said, nodding.

What a couple of odd balls. It reminded me of the time when I was walking into the building from the gym and, mid-step, I felt two hands on my ass. After a good squeeze, Angela and Eric walked around me from both sides, and then proceeded to turn back simultaneously with a mischievous look on their faces. One of the most priceless moments ever.

But today, I needed to talk to Angie about her "son." She had a habit of taking high school odd-balls like her that were younger under her wing and calling them her "children." I was one of them, which was the cause for her calling me her "daughter."

"Mom, you're son is getting on my last nerve!" I growled.

"Which one?" Eric asked.

"Liam."

"Ahh…" Eric seemed to understand.

"What did he do?" Angie asked.

"He kept me up on the phone the other night for six hours, Angie. SIX. From one to seven in the morning."

She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but the bell rang.

"Okay, I gotta go, Ang. See ya!"

By the time fourth period rolled around, I was in higher spirits. That was because I had Jacob to look forward to. I walked into the drama room to find Jacob and Emmett talking by the power saw. When I entered, he looked over and smiled. I smiled back involuntarily, which felt so right. Then he walked over to me.

"Hey, beautiful."

I submitted myself into his embrace. "Hey." I pulled back after a few seconds to look at him. "Do you know what my class is doing today?"

"I think Miss Kay is making today one of her mental health days."

"So we can…?" I asked hopefully, an eyebrow raised.

He smiled sexily as he held up the ring that held the keys that unlocked the electrical closet, the catwalk, the booth, and the dressing rooms.

"No kidding? How'd you manage that?"

"Edward."

I was shocked. "He just helped you get those? Did you tell them why you wanted them?"

He chuckled. "Hell no. If he knew why I needed them, he would've made sure I never got my hands on them." He then leaned in and whispered, "I think the guy's jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "Hardly. It's more of an obsessive need to have a shitload of fan girls in his arsenal. He loses one, and he acts like a child about it."

"Bella… I don't think-"

Just then Miss Kay clapped her hands to get our attention. "I'm sorry, you guys, but I just really don't feel inspired today."

"What else is new…" Alice muttered. I smiled.

"Entertain yourselves."

Then we all grinned.

"Yes ma'am!" Alice saluted.

"Not a problem," I said, turning my full attention to Jake as Alice did the same to Emmett.

Then all four of us rushed backstage into the wings.

"Dude, keys?" Emmett said to Jake.

Jake tossed him the keys, and then he unlocked the electrical closet, pulling Alice in with him. Then he threw the keys back to Jake, thanked him, and closed the door.

Keys in hand, Jake took mine and we ran to the ladder, leading up to the catwalk. He sent me up first, and then followed closely behind me. Once we were both up, we went the very end up the line, where he pressed me against the wall and started kissing me. His tongue asked for entrance and I didn't hesitate to let him in. Our tongues danced together, something they had become good at with time and practice and familiarity. Then I felt him bite my lower lip, which sent me into an exotic frenzy. The heat grew and I allowed him further entrance when his fingers began playing with the bottom edges of my shirt. His hands snaked around my waist and up my back. He didn't take even a second to unfasten my bra, after which he spent several moments caressing my back.

Then he moved his hands to my chest, which extracted a sharp moan from deep inside of me. After a minute, his fingers moved to the edge of my jeans. I almost let him, but I opened my eyes and took his hands away, holding them in my own.

"What's wrong?" he asked me in a whisper.

"Not again."

"Why not?"

"You're next. My pants aren't coming off again until you've had your turn. It's only fair."

He smirked. "Fair enough. I guess it's your call then."

"Well, you're staying the night tonight… and the rest of the week… so…" I smiled at him mischievously.

"True." He grinned.

His arms snaked back around my waist and we started kissing again, easily leaving it at that. It turned into full-on making out after a few more minutes, which excited me as much as it had the very first time.

EPOV

Where the fuck did Jake go? It wasn't like there was anything we could do until the paint dried on the set for the musical, but he really didn't need to disappear…

I walked out onto the stage and the lights were glaring down on me. But a sudden pull at my instincts made me look up. I squinted a little and looked to the very end of the catwalk.

Oh, _hell_ no…

BPOV

Mid-kiss, we were suddenly pulled out of our trance when Miss Kay came strutting onto the stage with two workmen.

"Yes, the ladder to the catwalk is just over there…"

Jake and I didn't hesitate. He immediately grabbed my hand and we ran for the ladder. There was no time for climbing. He grabbed the first bar and, from there, dropped. I did the same. He was still standing there to catch me. His hands glided up my leg as I landed on my feet in a crouch. Then we walked briskly for the door, me holding my breasts up since my bra was still unfastened completely.

But we didn't get the chance to get out the door before Edward emerged from behind the cyclorama curtain, blocking our way out.

"Jake, the paint's dry on the first panel. You handle the nail gun better than me."

Jake was very hesitant. He looked between me and Edward a few times before I gave him the 'It's fine. You go, I can deal with him' look. His face softened at my expression before he nodded at me and left me alone with Edward. I was still supporting my chest.

"What the hell are you thinking, Bella?" he demanded.

I blinked a few times. "Come again?"

"Do you not realize that you're a minor and he isn't?"

"And? Edward, you know perfectly well that the legal age of consent is sixteen in this state. Don't even try to pretend that this has anything to do with my innocence." I didn't even bother with pointing out that he was as much an adult as Jake was.

"We both know that you're far from innocent, Bella. And so does Jake."

I rolled my eyes. "FYI, I'm still a virgin, Edward. I've still got some innocence left in me."

"You really wanna ruin it?"

"Edward, I came into this world innocent and knowing that I wouldn't leave it the same way. And that isn't my goal anyway. If I love someone, I think it's worth my innocence."

"Do you love Jake?" he asked me in a deadly hard voice.

I blushed a little. "I… I don't know."

"Well, it's time you figured out how you feel, Bella."

"And why is that?" I shot back. "What does any of this have to do with you? Why do you suddenly care so much?" My voice had started out hard and demanding, but by the third question, it was more questioning and almost pleading.

He suddenly looked pained. "Bella, I don't want you to be with Jake."

"Why not?"

We were whispering now. The look in his eyes plead to me. He was getting ready to do some major gut-spilling and I had a feeling it was about to change everything. That was when the nausea hit. That overwhelming sick feeling that came on at moments like this. I'm sure I felt my face pale.

But then we were interrupted by Alice and Emmett making a noisy exit from the electrical closet. Our heads jerked in their direction and the moment popped like a soap bubble.

"Bella!" Alice called. "Where's Jake? We need to give the keys back."

"My best guess would be the first panel."

Then once Emmett and Alice were gone, I turned back to Edward.

"What were you saying?" I asked, my voice going quiet again.

"Nothing… just as long as you're happy, Bella."

Lie. But I nodded in acceptance anyway. Seeing as how Edward wasn't going to open up about what was bothering him, which I'm sure had to do with his Emily and Claire situation, I'm sure, I walked away from him to catch up to Jake.

EPOV

Shortly after Bella disappeared, Alice came backstage with me. She put a hand on my shoulder.

"Edward, don't you think this has gone on long enough?"

"Of course I do."

"Then tell her."

"No," I resolved immediately. "Not while she's with Jacob."

"She needs to know, Edward. You can't put it off much longer."

"I know that, Alice, but I will not tell her while she is with Jacob. No chance."

"Well, it's a week. By then, you need to tell her."

"I don't know, Alice…"

"Then know, Edward! This bullshit has been going on for almost a year, according to what you've told me. You need to fix this."

I looked down at the floor. "I almost told her."

"What stopped you?"

"I think she's in love with him, Alice. I think she's in love with Jacob."


	19. That Far Ahead

When I got through the door and found everyone gone, I let out a huge breath. I closed my eyes for a few moments to convince myself that everything was okay. Liam wasn't interested in me, I was sure. And the same could definitely said for Edward, as always. So I opened my eyes and checked my phone, suddenly feeling at peace once again. Even when I read the message from Angela, which had been received at the beginning of third period. I grabbed a bottled water.

_A: Why did you talk to him for so long?_

_B: idk I just did. he kept me up all night and wouldn't let me go to sleep_

_A: He likes you._

The water spewed out of my mouth.

_B: He told you this?_

_A: No but I have a gut feeling._

_B: Why do I think you're right?_

_A: Because I am. But hes inexperienced and you're fragile so he will need guidance_

That sick feeling returned instantly. This cannot be happening. So I called Alice. She'd know what to do.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Alice, I need you."

"What's wrong?"

"I just talked to Angie. She is convinced that Liam likes me."

"Well, what do you think?"

"I've tried to never have an opinion in all this."

"Lemme guess, you've been pretending that nothing's been strange? Even when you spent six hours talking to the guy and let him draw all over?"

"I resent that!"

"Nevertheless," she continued, "I know what your problem is, but I can't believe you don't know."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have commitment issues, Bella! Just the thought of it makes you lose it!"

"My God, when did you find the time to figure all this out, Dr. Laura?"

"Didn't have to. I'm gonna be a psychology major, remember? Okay, here's your problem: remember when Edward asked you to the movies? I mean, before you figured out that you were basically acting as a third wheel?"

"Yeah?"

"You woke up the next morning feeling sick to your stomach and you had no appetite. Then when Jacob came to town, what did you tell me after he left?"

"That I could breathe, sleep, and eat again."

"Exactly. And you even told Renee that him leaving took off the pressure of a relationship. And now that there's a chance that Liam feels something, you feel like you're gonna throw up. Your stomach's in knots again. Just like with Edward and Jacob. It's because you're afraid of the possibility that someone might actually wanna be with you."

"You know, I thought that was the cheesiest line in that whole movie, but I just realized how very true it just might be…"

"Word."

"So what do I do? Alice, what if he asks me out? I don't wanna hurt anyone!"

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"No. Not anymore."

"Wow. Sucks to be you. Now you don't have that barrier to protect you."

"You think I haven't figured that out?" I growled.

"Well, it looks like you've got more to figure out," she said, suddenly quiet.

"What do you mean?"

"Bella, how do you really feel about Jake?"

I was quiet for a moment. "Where is this coming from, Alice?"

"You need to have your emotions in check because you're in for one hell of a ride, my friend."

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you in love with Jacob?"

I groaned. "Not you too! Look, I don't know how I feel yet, Alice! What do you all want from me?"

"'You all'? What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed. "Edward asked me the same question."

There was a long pause. "Did he say anything else to you?"

"Was he supposed to?"

"Yeah-" But I cut her off when Jake appeared at the door and tapped on the window.

"Al, I'm sorry, but Jake's here. I have to go."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Love you, bye."

Then I hung up on her, suddenly and secretly realizing that Edward was really going to tell me something important, and the sharp wave of nausea intensified for a split second. But it flew away as quickly as it had come as I looked back at Jake. I smiled and opened the door for him. He kissed me hello and removed his jacket. Then I took his hand and led him upstairs. We went into my bedroom and closed the door behind us. I shed my jacket, leaving me in my black tank top and jeans. I slid out of my flip-flops. I turned to Jake, who was in about as much clothing as I was. He was barefoot too.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him passionately as we stumbled into the trim of my closet door. I unfastened his belt and undid his jeans. They dropped to reveal his boxers. I reached up to kiss him again as he embraced me, molding my body into his own. Then I gripped the edges of his boxers and pulled them down just enough for my hand access. I glided my fingers along the length of him, the blood rushing, hardening him against my touch.

Though I had never done this before, _anything_ like this before, I let the moans that escaped his lips guide me. I had never felt so empowered, knowing that _I_ could cause these feelings in a guy. His breathing growing rapid, I could actually feel him coming as he did. Then with one final groan, he shuddered against me, and it was over.

Once his breathing stabilized again, he looked me in the eyes and I knew exactly what he was thinking. But neither of us had a chance to say a word or make a move before the phone rang.

_There's always something_…

EPOV

"Dude, if you've felt that way about her all along, why haven't you told her before now?"

I looked up and glared at Emmett. "I don't know," I said sarcastically. "I guess the thought just escaped my mind!"

He sighed in exasperation. "Edward, if I had to name the world's eighth and ninth wonders of the world, I'd name women and you. 'Cause I don't get any one of you."

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?"

"Because you're being ridiculous! I know how Bella pined for you last year. Those were the hardest nine months of her life. But granted, they were some of the best too. There were times when you made her feel special, but that never could outweigh all the times you made her feel like shit."

"And where did you gather all of this enlightenment?"

"Alice. She was right by Bella's side through everything. How long have these feelings been going on?"

"Since… I don't know. I guess since I realized that she actually wasn't gonna be there anymore. She had actually moved on without me. And then I realized I missed her. She was a much better friend than I gave her credit for. I did some pretty mean shit to her last year, and I probably won't ever forget it."

"So make it right. Tell her."

"And piss Jake off royally? I don't think so. She's happy and that's the only reason I won't move forward with it. I won't ruin this for her."

"Though you've tried so many times? I know you sicked those workmen on the catwalk to get in Bella and Jacob's way. You haven't been as subtle as you might have hoped."

"Emmett, if I really wanted to sabotage her relationship with Jake, I would have taken Bella to bed or spread an ugly rumor."

"Okay, first of all, you tried one of those things already. And second, Bella and Jake aren't in a relationship, Edward."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's gonna be here until Saturday, then he's going back to California. They're not in a relationship, though. There's no point in it."

"So I could tell her?"

"Legally, yes. Morally, maybe. But the longer you take, the more emotional it's gonna be for Bella. After Jake leaves, it'll be rough on her, but you _have to tell her_. The longer you wait, the more she'll resent you for it. You owe it to her to be honest about your feelings for her."

BPOV

The next morning, I sat in first period as I yawned. The bell was about to ring, thank God, and I glanced back to see Liam staring at me from the back of the room. When the bell did ring, I took my time gathering my stuff, and so did he. He "conveniently" made it to my row just in time for me to walk right in front of him and he followed me out the door. We walked together, talking about the shock of him actually making it through class without falling asleep. When we turned the corner, Jessica was coming up the stairs. Liam leaned toward my ear.

"I need to talk to Stanley," he said lowly.

Before I could respond, Jessica walked right up to us, looked at me, and said seriously, "I need to talk to you later."

I tried not to look at Liam as I took in her statement, knowing without a doubt that this was about him… and me. But I played it cool, as if I didn't know a thing. "Okay," I said, walking toward the stairwell. "Will you text me?"

"Yes."

My eyes flickered to Liam's for the briefest moment before I walked away, my heart pounding. As I left the building, I saw Angela and Eric coming toward me. I ran to her.

"Angie, we've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"Jessica and Liam are upstairs talking. And I think it has to do with-"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Then I looked back to see Liam already coming.

"Oh, shit!" I muttered. "Okay, pretend you don't know anything."

Then as Liam approached our parents, I took off for class without looking back.

ANPOV

"My son!" I exclaimed as I pulled Liam into a hug.

"Does she like me?" he asked, cutting right to the chase as he looked past me at Bella.

"I'm not telling you anything!" I said as I stalked past him and straight to second period. But when I got to class, I immediately pulled out my phone and started texting him.

_A: How bad is it? Crush or maybe more?_

_L: Probably more lol_

_A: Ok well im here to warn you that shes fragile. Shes been to hell and back with your kind and you need to be decent_

_L: I know how that is. Ive been used before_

I rest my case. So he liked her. I picked that one up from a mile away. I just hope Bella's ready for this…

BPOV

I thought I could handle this, but apparently I can't. I hurried across campus to find Jessica. I needed to know right now what this was about, though I could feel the nausea building up again and I thought I might hurl. Finally, I found her.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on? I wanna know right now before I have a brain hemorrhage!"

"Okay, okay. It's about Li."

"Called that already. What's this all about?"

She rolled her eyes. "He wants to know if you like him. He's being stupid."

Called it. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I didn't know… 'cause I don't."

I stopped to think. Now I had two guys to worry about. I liked Liam, and I was definitely into him, but my feelings weren't intense or anything. After Edward, I didn't invest my feelings easily. I could have interest, but I was not about to open up my heart or let myself have any real feelings for a guy. Jake was the only one I could let myself feel anything for. With him, there was no guessing. And that's the kind of stability I needed. But he was leaving soon. This was no relationship; we both knew it. It could never last. It wouldn't work. So I could definitely give Liam a little more attention. It had potential…

"Okay. Thanks." Then I let her go. She watched me walk to class with a questioning look.

Later in fourth period, I was greeted by Alice.

JPOV

I came out of the work area when I was sure Bella was here and saw her in conversation with Alice. Edward, Emmett, and I all approached them to join in. To our surprise, they looked kind of taken aback.

"What are you lovely ladies up to?" I asked.

"Just girl stuff," Alice answered, looking flushed.

Bella didn't look at anyone. And she was exceptionally quiet. Then as the guys started to chat, I saw her look at Alice, discreetly put her finger to her nose, tap it twice, and leave the room. Alice followed her immediately. I went to do the same, but Edward stopped me.

"It's girl-code, dude. Trust me, Bella needs a few minutes."

I shrugged, assuming Edward knew what he was talking about.

BPOV

"So what do you think that means?" Alice asked me urgently as I finished my plight.

"I don't know, but there are conversations going on behind my back, and I don't like being left out of a loop that I'm clearly involved in."

"So what are you gonna do?"

I paused. "I don't know yet. I won't have any idea until Jake… leaves. After that, I'm free. Then I'll decide on what to do with Liam."

"And in the meantime…?"

"Haven't thought that far ahead."


	20. Fairy Godmother

After school, I walked out to my Mustang in the rain. I got in and ran my fingers through my now damp hair as I checked my phone. Angela.

_A: Come down to the track lot_

Just then, my passenger's door opened and Jake hopped in. I decided to text her back.

_B: Give me ten minutes._

I closed my phone and turned to Jake, who looked me up and down.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"How would you feel about me seeing someone?" I asked bluntly, knowing he could take it. Though I could see pain reach his eyes, he shrugged.

"You don't belong to me, Bella. I'm here for the next four days or so. After that, I go back to being hundreds of miles away. You and I have always known that there would be no guarantees with us. So if there's someone you think you could be with, I'd be a bad… friend… to not encourage you."

I smiled. "I thought you'd say that."

"I will be honest, though. The thought of you being with someone besides me makes me jealous as hell."

My smile grew. "Ditto. But long-distance… just relationships in general… I just don't…." I shook my head.

He nodded. "I get it. That's why none of my relationships last long. And you and I both know long-distance wouldn't be a good idea."

"I totally agree," I said casually, though the thought hurt. I could tell it hurt him too, but this was the way it had to be.

"Who's the guy?"

I sighed. "His name's Liam. He's a junior, like me, but he's younger than me by a couple of months. He is so inexperienced with this whole dating thing, though. That might be why his relationships don't last long either. He's dated one of my best friends, Jessica Stanley, and another friend of ours. His relationship with Jess lasted three days and the other lasted a week. And he just got out of a relationship that Jess says only lasted three weeks or so."

"Then do you think a relationship with him would be promising?"

"That's one of the things I'm worried about. I mean, I like him just fine and I'm willing to give it a shot with him, but I've only done the whole relationship thing once. And that ended badly."

"James?"

I scoffed. "I'd hardly call that a relationship. That was a simple date. But I was with a guy named Jack. I could have loved him, but it didn't last long enough. He cheated."

Jake nodded in understanding. "What about Edward?"

I looked up at him. "What about him?"

"Did you love him?"

"Do you really wanna talk about Edward?"

"Can't you just answer the question?"

I sighed. "Once upon a time, I thought I did. But I didn't. And I don't." I couldn't quite decipher which parts of my answer were lies, or rather undiscovered truths. After all, I was seventeen years old. Was I really supposed to know what love was?

Jake searched my eyes for a long time. I wanted to look away so bad, but if I did, it would prove my uncertainty. "Well, then maybe you should let him know."

"I have. Why do you want to know anyway?"

He shrugged. "Maybe your options go further than Liam is all."

Not gathering his meaning, I turned back to him. "Well, Angela wants me to meet her down at her lot, and I'm sure it has to do with him. Wanna tag along?"

"Will I get to learn about your possible suitor?" he teased.

"Indeed."

"Then count me in."

"So I started the car and threw it into drive. I pulled through the spot in front of me and hauled ass down to the track lot. Eric and Angela were waiting patiently in his parking spot. I turned the Mustang off and beckoned Jake to follow me as I got out and crawled into the backseat of Eric's old Jeep.

"What's up, girl?" Angie greeted.

"Whatever you I need to know, I guess," I told her.

She handed me her phone. "Check the messages. He's admitted to me that he likes you, so I gave him a couple of tips."

"Such as…?"

"Letting him know that you're fragile and that you've had bad… experiences in the guy department."

"What did he say to that?"

"That he knows how you feel. He's been used by girls before."

I quickly scanned the inbox and outbox, confirming Angie's story. Then my phone went off. It was Jessica.

_J: So do you like Li?_

I had to think about how I answered this. I really did like Liam, but it wasn't a head-over-heels-my stomach's-about-to-fall-out-my-butt infatuation. My heart wasn't ready to give that up to anyone besides Jake yet.

_B: Yes._

_J: Well be warned. He will fuck you over._

That jolted me, and I discreetly showed the message to Jake. He looked back at me.

_B: You really think he'd do that?_

_J: I know he'll do that. Just like he did me, like he did Maddie._

I decided to call her.

"Hey."

"How will he fuck me over, Jess?"

"Half-assing the relationship. He and I only lasted three days, Bella. He kicked Maddie to the curb after a week."

"How long was he with his last girlfriend?"

"Sarah? Oh, they were on and off every two weeks since, like, October. Very promising, if you ask me," she said sarcastically.

I went quiet for a few seconds. "Okay, Jess, thanks."

Then I hung up.

"Okay, conference," I declared.

"What's up?" Angela asked.

"Jessica just told me that Liam was gonna fuck me over. Ang, I need you to do a work-up on Liam and find out everything you can. There have been secret conversations going on about me behind my back and it seems like everyone else has a better idea of what the hell is going on than I do."

"What do you want me to find out?"

"Everything. His last three relationships were either ridiculously short or ridiculously unstable. I want to know if this guy is worth all this trouble."

"You talk about him like you don't even know him."

"Well, I don't. At least for the time being. I'm not about to set myself up to be humiliated again."

"Well, in that case, I will get you your answers by midnight tonight."

"Thanks, Fairy Godmother."


	21. In the Light of the Moon

It was minutes to midnight and we were still waiting.

"What time is it now?" I asked.

"Quarter 'til. Are you okay?"

"My stomach's in knots. It won't go away."

"Want a massage? Maybe you'll feel more… relaxed."

I complied, taking off my shirt and bra and rolling over onto my stomach, keeping the sheets draped over me below my lower back. He massaged me until my cell phone finally started to ring. I pressed the speaker button so that Jake could hear.

"Angela?"

"Yes, daughter, it's me. And I have your information." Her voice filled the bedroom.

"Okay, what's the word?"

"Okay…"

An hour earlier…

ANPOV

_I found Liam's cell number on my contact list. I hadn't used it in awhile. I hit 'Send' and waited for him to answer._

"_Hello?" he said from the other end._

"_Hey, Li, it's Angela. How are you?"_

_He paused. "I don't feel good."_

_Damn. This might make things a little harder… "Why don't you feel good?"_

_He hesitated. "My arm hurts."_

_Lie. "Aw. What did you do to it?"_

"_I just hurt it, okay?" he told me, slightly defensive. Then I waited. And then he sighed. "Okay, it's not my arm." Called it. "I don't feel good because I'm nervous as hell."_

_Bingo. "So are you dating somebody?"_

"_Well, I just got out of a bad relationship a couple of weeks ago… and I'm looking to get into another one."_

_This was turning out to be too easy. "Well, you and Bella seem to be talking a lot. Have you thought about her?"_

"_Yeah, I've really been thinking about it."_

"_Well, when do you wanna ask her out?"_

"_I was thinking around the start of January 'cause I've got lots of ROTC stuff going on. You know, tournaments, championships and stuff like that. I won't have a free weekend until, like January eighth. And that would give me a chance to get my license, so I could come pick her up."_

"_But don't you have to wait six months before you can drive other people?"_

"_Oh, no, I'll be seventeen on New Years' Day."_

_I didn't bother telling him that age had nothing to do with it. "So how will you go about asking her out?"_

"_I was thinking about calling her and telling her to meet me somewhere, and then asking her then."_

_I grinned. "That sounds perfect."_

"_So what does she like to do? Where can we go out on dates?" he asked me urgently._

"_Oh, you know, she loves the Bronze or anywhere in Port Angeles. Movies, bowling, rollerblading, or just walking around."_

"_Really? She likes rollerblading and bowling? I haven't been able to get a girl to do that stuff with me!"_

"_She's pretty easy to get along with," I said. "So how long do you think it'll last with her?" That was a definite deal-breaker._

"_Well, considering how long my past relationships lasted, I'd give me and her at least three months."_

_Wow. "Really?"_

"_Wait a minute, you're not gonna go and tell her that, are you?"_

_I scoffed. "Liam Scotts, I am appalled that you would accuse me of such a thing!"_

"_You can't tell her I ever said that! I don't wanna scare her off!"_

"_So I guess the million-dollar question is answered? You really like her, don't you?"_

_He paused. "Angela, you and I both know that as soon as you get off the phone with me, you're gonna run straight to Bella and tell her everything."_

"_Li, I think my feelings are hurt. I can't believe-"_

"_So when you do, all you have to say is one word, and she will understand."_

"_Okay, what's the word?"_

"_Smiley-face."_

_WTF? "Smiley-face?"_

"_Yes. Smiley-face. Bella will know what it means."_

"_Okay… but what about me?"_

"_Okay, you get… 'maybe'."_

"_What? Bella gets 'smiley-face' and I get 'maybe'? Liam, I am your _mother_!"_

"_She's more important."_

_I huffed. "Fine. I'll tell her."_

"_Great. Bye, Mom."_

_I grunted in response and hung up._

BPOV

Jake and I exchanged looks as Angie finished her piece. That was _way_ more than I was expecting.

"So you do know what 'smiley-face' means, right?" Angie verified.

I blinked several times, her voice pulling me out of my trance. "Uhh… yeah, I do. It means he does. Like me, I mean… I just… never saw this coming…"

"Well, I hope I was of service."

"You were, babe," I told her. "Thank you."

"Okay," she yawned. "Mission accomplished. I'm hittin' the rack."

"'Kay. Goodnight."

After she hung up, I turned to Jake.

"Sure as hell didn't see that one coming."

"Well, it looks like you're getting that relationship you've always dreamed of," he teased.

"That's assuming his feelings don't change by January," I told him, curling myself against his chest as he pulled the covers over us.

"Bella, I doubt a guy whose feelings about you are 'more than a crush' will change his mind."

"Probably more," I corrected him. "Besides, until then, I'm yours."

"Just remember that I'm still pulling for you with Liam… even if I haven't left yet."

I smiled. "Thanks. You're like the best guy friend/lover crossover ever. You know that?"

"Well, I guess I do now. And believe it or not, I'm pretty satisfied with that title." He kissed my hair.

"I'm glad you like it. 'Cause you're stuck with it for the rest of the week and it's only Tuesday," I teased.

He suddenly went solemn. "I'm gonna miss this, you know." He let out a long breath. "I'm gonna miss getting to hold you like this, here in your bed. I've only been around a few days, and I already feel like it's gonna be like moving out of my parents' house when I leave."

"Do we really have to talk about you leaving?" I asked him, suddenly letting myself grow numb so that I didn't have to face the pain.

JPOV

God, how did I know she was gonna do this? Didn't she know that, sooner or later, we'd have to talk about it? That was the thing. She's seventeen. A kid. And this is exactly something I would expect from Bella. But could I blame her? This was a painful subject for me, just as much as her. But that was the difference between being a kid and being an adult. I was ready to face this. She wasn't.

"Bella, you've known that it's a reality for awhile now. You knew it this past summer, and you know it now. Let's face it now."

"Why not face it this weekend? When it actually happens? Why do you wanna put me through this right now?"

"Because it's time to be a grown-up about it."

She lifted her naked body off of me and pulled the white sheet up around her chest. "But I'm not a grown-up, Jake! _You_ are! That's the difference between a seventeen-year-old girl and a nineteen-year-old man!"

"No, Bella, it isn't! Being a minor doesn't entitle you to act like a child!"

"Oh, so I'm a child now, huh?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Bella… I didn't mean that. I just mean that you keep trying to run away from reality, just like a child. You can't keep doing this." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "Bella, this is killing me inside. It's _killing_ me. But I grew up a long time ago. And I realized that not facing reality will be the death of all of us."

"Can't we just treat this like it is? A fling? Why does everything have to be so serious?"

What a lie. "That's what this is to you? A _fling_?" The truth flickered across her eyes, and I felt a sense of satisfaction that I just might get a positive reaction to what I was about to tell her. "Bella, if that's what you thought this was, you're more young and naïve than I thought you were."

"Well, I guess that's what you get when you decide to seduce a sixteen-year-old in a swimming pool!" she shot back angrily.

"Are you serious? All this time and you still haven't figured it out?"

"Figured _what_ out? That this was a giant _game_ to you? That you _played_ me? Just like every other guy before you?" The tears were threatening her.

My breath hitched. That's what she thought I was getting at? "Bella, what are you… that's not what's happening at all!"

"Then what _are_ you saying?"

I couldn't stop myself. "I love you."

She stopped breathing.

BPOV

"What did you say?"

"I love you, Bella, and I will love you 'til I die. And if there's a life after that, I'll love you then."

I couldn't wrap my head around it. But this was reality, something I had to face. And that included being as honest with him as he was with me.

"I love you too," I said before I could stop myself. "I really love you."

"Then listen to me when I tell you this: you mean more to me than anything. You have changed my life and I would give anything to have more time with you. But I'm going to school, I have bills to pay when I get home, I have an apartment, a job. And I have to go home to that. Being here with you is like paradise to me… but it can't last like we both want it to."

"And on Saturday… you're gonna leave me."

A tear actually fell from his eye. "If I could change that, I'd do anything for the chance. You don't even understand." Then he took my hands in his. "I didn't expect to fall in love with you. After I left back in June, I knew that if I had stayed another day, I would've fallen in love with you back then. That's why I never texted or called. I had to make it a clean break for you. And now here you are… and it's finally happened. I'm so in love with you, it hurts. And I know the longer I wait to pull away from you, the harder it's going to be. But I'm in too deep. It's like trying to swim in an acid pool with no walls to pull myself out. I feel like I'm gonna die."

His voice finally broke at the end and he began to cry with me. In that instant, it was like I became the adult and he was the child. He covered his face with his hands and fell forward toward me. I caught him in my arms and held his head in my lap as we both wept. After a few minutes, he slowly lifted his head to look at me. Sniffling, we both started to chuckle.

"We're a couple of babies, aren't we?" I said.

"Hey, I resent that."

"I bet you do."

"We're not babies, just… human."

"You always sound like such an adult all the time," I said in an admiring way.

"Well, one of us has to," he told me, lifting a hand up to my face. Then he pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. I knew what fate had in store for us. Neither one of us had to say anything. I only felt the back of my head hit the pillow, Jake's mouth never leaving mine. And then there, in the light of the moon, Jacob Black made love to me.


	22. The Morning After

I woke up to the sun shining through my window. With the sight of that and the warmth of Jake's bare chest beneath my fingertips, I would have never guessed it was December. I felt him sigh, so I slowly looked up at him. He was looking back at me, smiling. I smiled back and looked over his shoulder at my alarm clock. It was almost ten in the morning.

"Oh well…" I sighed.

"Yeah, we'll make it by your fourth period. Don't worry about it."

So we laid there, naked, in my bed, for as long as we possibly could. I didn't wanna get up, but I coped since where I was going, Jake would be going to. So we got dressed and ready and Jake drove us to the school in my Mustang.

We made it just in time for fourth period. And when we walked in together, hand in hand, we caught a few stares, especially from Emmett, Alice, and… Edward. Jake kissed me before going back to the work area, leaving Alice to ambush me.

"Where have you been?"

"What are you talking about?" It's not like she would have known if I wasn't at school before this class anyway.

"Angela texted me, saying that Liam was texting her, saying that you weren't in math class. Apparently, he's afraid he's already scared you off, according to Angie."

I groaned, having completely forgotten about my possible future boyfriend. This was starting to get too complicated.

"What were you and Jake doing, Bella?" she asked me gravely.

I opened my mouth to say something, but for once, I couldn't find a lie.

Slowly, Alice's eyes widened and she grabbed my hand, pulling me into the lobby. She pushed me against the wall by my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. "You _didn't_."

I blushed.

"You _did_?"

"A girl with class doesn't kiss and tell," I said simply.

"Screw class, Isabella Swan, this is serious! What if he got you pregnant?"

I rolled my eyes. "Alice, I am not pregnant. Jake used protection. He had a condom."

She seemed to relax a little. "But Bella… do you love him? I mean, you had _sex_ with him…"

"Yes, Alice. I do love him. And I don't regret last night. I never will. So let's just leave it at that, okay?"

She sighed. "Okay."

Then Alice and I walked back to the classroom. Edward was walking back toward the work area and Emmett came up and hugged Alice again.

EPOV

When Bella and Jacob walked in, hand-in-hand, I felt cold all over. It was written all over her face. Hell, I could _smell_ it. Jake hadn't shown up in the building before school, and I had heard from Jessica that Bella hadn't been walking with one of their friends after first period like she usually did. And when they showed up just then, no one had to say a word. My blood boiled and I felt like I could kill him.

Jake went to the work area and then disappeared to the stage once Alice dragged Bella away. I assumed she could tell too.

"Dude, you okay?" Emmett asked me.

I couldn't speak right away. "Yeah…"

"Are you sure? It looks like there's steam coming out of your ears. Does seeing her with him bother you that much?"

I looked at him gravely. "You have no idea what he's done." Then, seeing red, I trudged into the work area. Jake wasn't there, and I knew instantly that he had already migrated onto the stage. I ran up behind him, turned him around to face me, and punched him square in the face. I seethed, my shoulders rising and falling in my flaming rage.

Jake looked up at me from the floor, and I could see in his eyes the hatred, the seething anger, passion, Bella…

And then he sprung at me.

BPOV

Jessica plugged in her iPod to the speakers in the classroom, filling the room with her music. The moment Crazy Train started pouring through the speakers, Alice, Emmett, and I heard a crash come from the stage. No one else noticed, so we went to investigate on our own. And when we pulled back the curtain, my eyes widened in horror.

Jake and Edward were fighting. Punches were being thrown left and right, completely blowing my mind. The rage I could see in their eyes was overwhelming, even for me. The three of us made a beeline for them, Emmett going straight for Edward, and me and Alice going after Jake.

It was a team effort, but Alice and I managed to pull Jake away. Emmett had a little bit of trouble, which scared the hell out of me. Emmett was much bigger, not to mention stronger, but he couldn't get Edward under control as easily. I had always known that it was dangerous and intense when Edward's anger drove him, but I never imagined that the end result could ever even come _close_ to being out of Emmett's hands. I had seen him punch a door, dislocating his knuckles and leaving a hole in the woodwork, but that was nothing compared to how livid he looked.

Then after taking my eyes off of his, I noticed his bloody nose and quickly bruising eye. It was pretty bad. Though Edward looked as if he wasn't even aware of his injuries. He just kept his eyes locked on Jake.

"Okay," I said to Jake, "just walk it off. Go outside and chill out."

Jake only nodded, still heaving with anger, as he walked out the door in the wings to the side steps outside. I quickly snuck into Miss Kay's office and stole the same first-aid kit Edward had gotten for me when I turned my ankle over. I made my way back to where Alice and Emmett were sitting with Edward in the House. I handed Alice the first-aid kit and crossed my arms.

"Are you okay?" I asked Edward, not letting much emotion reach my voice.

He didn't answer right away. He looked as if he was having trouble looking me in the face. Then finally, he said, "Yeah."

Nodding once, I went back through the wings and out the exit door. I found Jake leaning up against the wall. He turned his head to me as I approached, stuffing my hands into my hoodie pocket. I leaned against the wall next to him.

"You did quite the job on his nose."

"How is he?" He sounded upset with himself.

"He'll be fine. Who started it?"

"He did."

"Why?"

"You have to ask?"

I froze.

"That's right, Bella. He knows."

"I never said a word."

"I know you didn't. Maybe he could smell it, I don't know. But I've never seen a guy so pissed. And I used to get in lots of fights in school." He moved closer to me. "I think he's too arrogant to ever say so, but-"

I held up my hand, my heart suddenly hurting. "Don't. I don't wanna hear it. That's over with, Jake. It has been for a long time now."

He nodded. "Maybe you should talk to him."

I stared at him.

"It can't hurt," he said.

"See, that's where you're wrong. It does hurt. A lot."

"All the more reason to find a common ground."

I was quiet for a few minutes. What could I possibly say to Edward to make this okay for any of us? He and I weren't friends. He had made sure of that. But then again, I couldn't let him keep attacking Jake like this. We still had three days left. And if we could find a common ground, then maybe, just maybe, we could be friends again. Jake was right.

"Damn you," I muttered before leaving him to go to Edward.

When I got there, Emmett and Alice were still with him. I snapped my fingers at them and ordered them away. I watched them leave, and once they were gone, I turned back to Edward. I sat down beside him.

"What was that all about earlier?" I asked him gently.

Edward laughed mockingly. "Are you serious? You're really asking me this?"

"Yes," I said. "I am. Now you can answer me or this conversation is over. And believe me, you won't get another chance."

"Why the hell did you sleep with him?"

"What's it to you?"

"I always thought that you had more sense than that."

"Oh, please, Edward. Give me a break. Don't even try to tell me that you can sleep with your girlfriends, but me doing it is an act of stupidity. You know better."

"Is he even your boyfriend?"

I was suddenly defensive. "Until Saturday, yes, he is! And I don't appreciate being judged! After all the mistakes you made, you're really going to lecture me about having some sense? What a joke!"

"I don't get why you're getting so angry with me; I just care about you getting hurt! Excuse me for trying to be a friend!"

"You're not trying to be a friend! You're trying to kill Jake out of anger and jealousy!"

"Don't flatter yourself."

"I don't have to! You're doing it enough for the both of us! If you really care about me and my happiness, just leave me and Jake alone! Stop trying to screw us up like you did with Emily and her boyfriend!"

"How do you even know about that?"

"Through the thespian grape vine! How else? And since when you lower yourself to that level? Didn't you tell me, once upon a time, that if a girl doesn't like you, you get over it and move on? So much for that."

"Well, that's over with, anyway, so I don't know why you're bringing it up."

"Because you always used to treat me like the pathetic, desperate one without a clue. But my, how the tables have turned. But the difference between you and me is that I'm not about to shove it in your face and use it as a weapon against you. I have far better things to do."

Then I turned to leave. But then he called to me.

"Bella."

I turned around, but didn't answer.

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I just have a lot to think about. I promise I'll quit trying to sabotage your… fling. I'll leave you and Jake alone."

I nodded once. "Thanks."

And without smiling, I left him standing there.


End file.
